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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23873539">The Warriors of the Walls</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowenawarden/pseuds/Rowenawarden'>Rowenawarden</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Sparhawke Chronicles [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anger, Anime/Manga Fusion, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Dominant Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Established Relationship, F/M, Fate &amp; Destiny, Freedom, Freedom Fighters, Genocide, Grief/Mourning, Human Experimentation, Humanity, Humanity's Strongest, Identity Issues, Identity Reveal, Kings &amp; Queens, Manga &amp; Anime, Mikasa Ackerman &amp; Levi Are Related, Minor Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Minor Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager, Minor Moblit Berner/Hange Zoë, Minor Sasha Blouse/Connie Springer, Pain, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Prophetic Dreams, Rebellion, Revelations, Revenge, Revolution, Rough Sex, Scout Regiment, Shiganshina District, Smut, Soldiers, Story Arc, The nine Titans, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Titan War, Titans, Violent Thoughts, War, bloodlines, titanshifter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:41:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>42,535</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23873539</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowenawarden/pseuds/Rowenawarden</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"How things begin are not nearly as important as how they end"</p><p>With the Scouts still reeling from their heavy losses, the enemy that has been working against them from the shadows finally steps into the light setting in motion a change of events that will not just shake the very foundations of Aurora's faith, but that of the entire world.</p><p>Part three of the Sparhawke Chronicles<br/>Sequel to The Birth of Freedom and The Fight for Mankind.<br/>(I recommend reading books one and two for back story and relevant plot)<br/>Levi Ackerman x OFC</p><p>all rights belong to Shingekinikyojin except for original characters and their arcs.<br/>all the pictures used bar the commissioned work do NOT belong to me and are found on pinterest.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Sparhawke Chronicles [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1523615</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>71</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>148</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue- The Prince's Vow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">Eldian Empire, Imperial Palace, <em>est </em>100 years before the Titan invasion.</span>
</p><p>The Prince's footsteps echoed down the stone corridors in the underbelly of the palace as he silently made his way to the agreed-upon meeting place, his heart in his throat for if he was caught, it would mean the end of everything he hoped. So weaving through endless narrow passageways lit by the light of the various torches, the Prince found himself in the long-forgotten labs that lay the bowels of the imperial palace, and as he entered the musty stale room, he realized that he was far from alone.</p><p>"Lord Tybur," the Prince called out softly and moving to the sound of his name, the young lord made his way towards the Prince, but before the Prince thank the younger lord for coming, lord Tybur grabbed him by the throat and slammed him back into the stone wall.</p><p>"I should choke the life out of you for what you've done!" Lord Tybur snarled, his grief-stricken face twisted with unbound rage as he dug his finger's into the Prince's soft flesh.</p><p>"I didn't know..." the Prince gasped, his face turning red as he struggled to breathe around the younger man's grip, "I didn't know... my father would... do that to Helene... you have to believe me... I would never... have knowingly done ...anything to harm her... I swear!"</p><p>Squeezing harder, lord Tybur's eyes burned into the Prince's, the images of wild red hair and beautiful mismatched grey and green eyes assaulting his mind only driving the need his desperate need revenge. Gasping on air that was out of reach, it appeared that all hope was lost for the Prince when suddenly, lord Tybur cried out in anguish and released his hold on the Prince before falling back with tears in his eyes as he slid down the side of the wall till he was nothing more than a broken pile on the floor.</p><p>"Thank... you." The Prince coughed as he too slid down the floor till he was sat by the younger lord's side, his throat bruising rapidly from the justified assault.</p><p>"Helene may have been sired by a different father, but she was still my sister" lord Tybur grieved, his hands buried in his messy pale hair, "Your father killed her at the behest of his council because of what <em>you </em>told them, because of your <em>jealousy.</em>"</p><p>Crying softly to himself, lord Tybur who in reality was nothing more than 19-year-old who had just lost one of the few who made this world a brighter place, a 19-year-old who wanted nothing more than to be left with his grief and to bury his sister in her family crypt on the blessed isle of Paradis.</p><p>"What are you doing here, Karl?" Lord Tybur sighed as he gazed at the Prince, his eyes filled with pain, "Why did you ask me to come?"</p><p>Silence fell between the two men as they both stared into nothing, their shared loss a heavy unspoken thing between them until, finally, the Prince found the courage to answer the man who had once looked to him as a friend.</p><p>"I remember the first time I met your sister." the Prince reminisced, bottom lip trembling as he pictured his heart's deepest desire, "It was not long after her father had died in the skirmish for the Armoured vessel and her uncle had brought her to court to take her fathers' place... She was standing proud in the great hall, clad in her armour, her family seal on her breast and spear in hand like a goddess of old. She had looked at me when she had caught me staring like a slack-jawed fool and had <em>smiled</em>... I remember thinking she was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."</p><p>"She was a force amongst men, wasn't she?" Lord Tybur smiled as fresh tears rolled down his face at the memory of his fierce, <em>bright </em>sister.</p><p>"She died because of what we are." The Prince spat, his fists clenching upon his knees as the sight of Helene's blood running down the marble stone of the great hall filled his mind, "Eldians...Titans... We never should have existed in the first place. Without them, it wouldn't have mattered who Helene Sparhawke fell in love with because she would have been a normal woman. It wouldn't have mattered that the father of the child she was carrying was an Ackerman, because Kaleb would have been a normal man. They could have married and had a normal life, even if it did break my heart, and it wouldn't have been a <em>crime.</em>"</p><p>"They knew the law on the mingling of the bloodlines, but there was no telling them. They were in love and both as stubborn as each other." Lord Tybur sighed as he ran his hand down his face, he had known of his sister's secret lover, had begged her to end it before this very thing happened, but she would not hear it, her heart ruling her head as it always had ever since they were children.</p><p>"I was so angry that she had chosen him over me. I had poured my heart out to her, told her I would make her my queen but she had smiled and told me she loved me like a brother and that... that her heart belonged to another man. I refused to accept it, and that night when I went to her room to ask her why, I, the future king wasn't good enough for her, I <em>saw</em> them together." the Prince mourned, his heartbreaking all over again as he pictured the sight of their bodies pressed together in a loving embrace, "I thought by telling my father that they would be separated, that Kaleb would be sent to the arse end of the empire and that I could swoop in and mend her broken heart, but when the council learned she was with child, they called for her death. The Spear of Eldia, a commander of our forces, a <em>war hero</em>, and they killed her like she meant <em>nothing</em>, they killed Kaleb like he meant <em>nothing</em>."</p><p>"I was there, remember?!" Lord Tybur snapped, his temper flaring as he remembered the cries of Kaleb Ackerman as he begged for his lover and unborn child to be spared, "I was there begging your father to have mercy alongside the Sparhawke house, but it didn't matter, Helene was a threat to their power, and they were <em>never </em>going to allow that child to be born."</p><p>"But it's not just Helene, is it?" The Prince sneered as he pushed to his feet and began pacing back and forth in the forgotten lab that had once been home to ungodly advancements, "It's all of it! Our empire is built upon the bones of conquered people, its throne rests upon a corrupt power that trembles at the possibility an unborn child presented. Houses squabbling amongst themselves to behold godlike power that no man should possess, crushing anyone who dares to stand in their way."</p><p>"Yes well," Lord Tybur sniffed as he pushed himself to his feet, eyes fixed on the agitated Prince with apprehension, "Before long that throne shall be yours, and it will be your turn to sit at the table of the corrupt and feast upon the spoils of slavery. Enjoy."</p><p>"No, I will not." the Prince whispered as he froze in place, his shoulders hunched in on himself as he stared down at his large hands. They had finally reached the reason for their being here, the reason why the Prince had asked Lord Tybur to come, the reason the Prince <em>needed </em>him.</p><p>"What are you saying?" Lord Tybur asked apprehensively as he came up behind the Prince and turning to face him, Karl Fritz, heir to the throne of the Eldian Empire, who would be the 145th of his line to sit upon the Titan throne, met his gaze with burning resolve.</p><p>"I will accept the responsibility of righting this wrong. I'm going to tear down the system that allowed this to happen. I'm going to bring retribution to this empire of blood and you lord Tybur are going to help me."</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Cabin in the Woods</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>NSFW Chapter :D:D</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">LEVI </span>
</p><p>Sunlight filtered through the woodland as I meandered my way through the trees after leaving the brats to sort out the cabin, hoping to cross paths with Aurora who had taken it upon herself after Eren's overbearing became to much to canvasing the area of our newest hideaway up in the mountain forest, far away from prying eyes.</p><p>
  <em>For the time being at least. </em>
</p><p>It had taken almost two days from Karanes to get here, and the entire journey had been somewhat grating with Eren's incessant need to be by Aurora's side ever since he had seen her choice of hairstyle, which I had to admit even though I had loved her hair as it was, this new cut highlighted an edge to her that has always been below the surface pushing to break free that had my heart beating faster in a way I didn't think a hairstyle could, or maybe it was more than that, maybe it was the dark look in her eyes that had replaced the hollowness that was having such a desirable effect.</p><p>
  <em>She's not hiding anymore, she's accepted what she is, all rage and feeling and burning passion and woe be to the stupid bastard that gets in her way. </em>
</p><p>A gentle rustle in the trees pricked my ears and smiling to myself, I slowed my pace as the noise drew closer, not evening bothering to be discreet, and when I was confident of her position behind me, I spun around and disarmed her of her gun before pressing her back into the nearest tree with a satisfied smile.</p><p>
  <em>There you are... </em>
</p><p>"You're not as quiet as you think", I smirked as I placed my hands on either said of her head, the sweet smell of sunshine and flowers filling my nose as her vibrant red hair tousled in the breeze.</p><p>"What makes you think that I <em>didn't</em> want you to hear me?" Aurora quipped as she tilted her chin, a clear challenge in her mismatched grey and green eyes that had me more than a little intrigued.</p><p>"Oh, I see" I drawled in a low tone as I leaned forward so that our faces were inches apart, excitement rising as I watched her pupils blow full, "and what Pray tell, has you giving up you're advantage?"</p><p>"<em>This</em>..." Aurora whispered as she rubbed the front of my breeches with the palm of her hand and groaning at the feel of her touch, I turned to meet her lips in a slow, languid kiss that had my staff stirring.</p><p>"Hmmm, I think I can oblige." I smiled into her lips as I grabbed handfuls of her rear and forcing her lips against mine, she pushed her tongue past my parted lips, fighting for dominance, before breaking off with moan when my fingers dug into her ass.</p><p>"I want you to <em>take</em> me against this tree." Aurora breathed in my ear before nipping at my lobe, sending a jolt through my body that had my hips rolling into hers, "But first…" she trailed off suggestively as she sank down onto her knees to work on my belt and unable to stop myself, I knotted my fingers in her short curls, excitement heating up my groin.</p><p>Reaching into my trousers, Aurora pulled my rapidly hardening erection free; pumping it a few times with her small hand before running her tongue along the underside of my shaft, the sensation of which had my head thumping back against the tree with a deep groan of pleasure.</p><p>"<em>Damn</em>." I hissed, my grip on her hair tightened as she took a much of me as she could into your mouth, and letting me lead her head, Aurora hollowed out her cheeks and curled her tongue in what was quickly becoming too much as she flicked her beautiful eyes up to mine, face flushed delicately with arousal.</p><p>
  <em>If I don't stop this, it will be over before its even begun. </em>
</p><p>Pulling her head away, I fell free from her lips with a slight pop that had my mind reeling with lust and reaching down for her, I all but dragged her up to her feet before spinning us both around and pressing her up against the tree trunk, my mouth pressing hungrily against hers.</p><p>
  <em>By the walls, I love this woman. </em>
</p><p>Using my slightly taller height to lean above her, I hastily undone the buttons on Aurora's trousers before shoving my hand inside and was rewarded with a deep moan bursting from her lips as I slipped two fingers into her already soaked entrance. Parting her legs as wide as she could, given her position, Aurora gripped the tops of my shoulders in a grip that was sure to leave bruises as she balanced on the tips of her toes, grinding her hips down onto my fingers with her head falling back, exposing the pale column of her throat which I immediately attacked with my lips.</p><p>Keening as I curled my thrusting fingers within her, Aurora arched her body closer to mine, her nails digging harder into my arms that had I not been driven to sate ours lusts would have had me questioning the strength behind the force she was exerting. Still, things as they were, I removed my hand, much to Aurora's protest and tugged down her pants and underwear before removing the garments from one leg entirely in haste, the need to be inside her all-consuming.</p><p>Grasping the backs of her thighs with my rough hands, I heaved Aurora's half-clothed body up and groaned deeply when she wrapped her legs around my hips, rolling against my hard member pressed against the inside of her thigh causing us both to moan as I pressed her back into the tree so I could spare a hand to unbutton the top of her shirt to reveal her heaving breast bound tightly in their breast band.</p><p>Placing a kiss on the hollow at the base of her throat, I smiled at the torturous roll of her hips before biting down and sucking in punishment, earning another deep moan that had me looking back up at her to satisfaction when suddenly my throat went dry. My heart beat even faster because right here in this very moment, open and flushed, beautiful heterochromatic eyes half-lidded and so full of desire she had never looked more beautiful. It made my heart ache knowing that if she had died in Shiganshina, I would never have met her, or if she had not chosen to follow her brother into the very career that had cost him his life, I wouldn't be holding her right now and that despite my cold and damaged soul she had chosen<em> me </em>above all others<em>.</em></p><p>
  <em>I don't believe in destiny, but I do when it is her. </em>
</p><p>"What's wrong?" Aurora panted, her eyebrows pulling together as her lust-filled eyes peered into my own with confusion.</p><p>"I am so in love you", I whispered in awe and blinking startled for a second, Aurora stared into my eyes before a shy smile pulled at her lips and leaning forward, she placed her forehead against mine as her hand came up to stroke the side of my face making my eyelids flutter.</p><p>"As I am with you." Aurora vowed, her fingers brushing the length of my cheekbone, "<em>Now</em> and <em>always</em>."</p><p>Lifting her hips as she continued to gaze into my eyes, she sank down on my shaft, both of us gasping as I filled her inch by inch until I was fully seated inside her and sighing in relief, Aurora brought her lips back to mine as my fingers flexed against the flesh of her thighs, an overwhelming sense of <em>home</em> swelling in my chest as I began to roll my hips. </p><p>
  <em>I was born to make love to her.</em>
</p><p>Breaking the kiss off with a gasp of pleasure, Aurora buried her head into the side of my neck, her warm breath fanning across the sensitive skin as she began to match my thrusts, speeding up the rhythm between us when suddenly she cried out when the head of my member pushed against her sweet spot and angling my hips lower, I began to thrust up harder, hammering that spot over and over, causing her walls flutter and a high pitched keen to burst from her lips.</p><p>
  <em>Were too close to the house... </em>
</p><p>"Not that I care," I panted, my hips slowing to a torturously slow pace, "But if you keep that up my love, your brats may come to investigate."</p><p>"We wouldn't want that, would we?" Aurora laughed breathlessly before bringing her lips to hover over mine, "So why don't you help me?"</p><p>Smiling broadly, I pressed my lips against hers hungrily as I drove into her over and over, swallowing the moans that were sure to echo through the trees had her lips not been on mine and wrapping her arms around my neck, Aurora brought our bodies flush together in divine sin. </p><p>
  <em>If this is sinful, then let me burn in hell.</em>
</p><p>Tightening her hold around my neck, Aurora began to cant her hips erratically, forcing me deeper and faster inside as she chased a high that was just out of reach, so bracing her weight against the tree, I pushed my hand between us to her swollen nub and stroked her in time to my pounding thrusts that had her eyes flaring wide as her walls clamping down hard, body jerking, as her orgasm crashed over her with a cry of sheer pleasure against my lips that had my knees weakening.</p><p>Grunting against Aurora's swollen lips, I felt my own end fast approaching and speeding up my already snapping hips, I groaned long and hard as a shiver of pleasure ran down my body and resonated in my groin as I buried myself as deep as humanly possible, my seed spilling into Aurora's still fluttering sheath. Hips still jerking with stuttering moans as the last of my seed shot inside of her, I dropped my head onto her shoulder, panting hard to catch my breath and bringing her hand up to the back of my head,  Aurora stroked my hair soothingly, nails gently scratching my scalp and sending tingles down my spine.</p><p>It was mind-blowing really that no matter how many times I took her, I always wanted more. I never tired of wanting her as close as humanly possible and as I pulled myself free from her, a low moan pulling from both our lips, my body mourned the loss as we dressed, my eyes tracing her body as she used a cloth she pulled from her trouser pocket to clean herself before pulling her pants back up in place, a content after fuck bliss on her face that always had me wanting to retake her, but alas we had places to be.</p><p>"We best get back to the brats," I sighed as I buckled my belt and smoothed my hair, "They've had more than enough time to clean the place to perfection."</p><p>
  <em>That or they have burnt the place to the ground... </em>
</p><p>"Setting yourself up for disappointment there, my love." Aurora laughed gently as she picked up her rifle before hanging it on her shoulder, and I watched with rising concern as the laughter left her face only to be replaced by a deep frown.</p><p>"Something is bothering you." I murmured as I stepped closer to her before placing my hands on her hips, pulling her closer as I met her eyes and saw the answer within them, "Its Eren, isn't it?"</p><p>Sighing, Aurora looked away, guilt etched on her face before she met my eyes again with a troubled expression that had me tightening my hold on her hips.</p><p>"It's the way he keeps looking at me," Aurora admitted quietly, her hands coming up to rest on my chest, "At first, I thought it was pity, but it's not... It's <em>fear</em>."</p><p>Frowning, I thought back on the last few days and found that Aurora was right, ever since she was brought back to Karanes, Eren had been a near-constant at her side to the point of annoyance, especially as he monopolised her attention and prodded my jealous with his overbearing need to be the one to make sure she was okay, and even then, before that, the way his face had turned ashen white when Aurora had arrived at the stables ready to leave, revealing her extreme hair cut,  had set my teeth on edge because Aurora was right, he wasn't looking at her with pity, he was looking at her with absolute fear.</p><p>
  <em>Rian dying has hit them all hard, maybe it has affected him more than I thought it had. </em>
</p><p>"You've both just lost your brother, maybe he is afraid to lose you too", I said softly so as not to seem unkind and sighing deeply, Aurora looked away again, her head nodding slightly as she accepted my suggestion as being the likely reason for Eren's concern, overbearing or not. </p><p>
  <em>It never gets easier, but with time they will all be able to bear it better... I would know.</em>
</p><p>"Come on." I smiled softly as I pressed my lips to her forehead before lacing my fingers with hers to tug her away from more than her anxious thoughts, "Let's go put the fear of God into those little shits."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for the kudos, especially for those who have followed the story on from the prequels, thank you for continuing to support this fic, Its greatly appreciated! :D:D<br/>Special shout out to Alee_17, Tae_is_Bae and probablysana and the three guest kudos so far :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Normality of Chaos</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">JEAN </span>
</p><p>Sweat poured down the back of my shirt from the unusually warm weather,  pooling at the base of my spine where my waistcoat clung tight to my skin, making lugging the sacks of potatoes I was carrying towards the house from the back of the cart a fucking nightmare, that and the fact my temper was spiking as I eyed Sasha drooling over the contented of her crate.</p><p>
  <em>Un-fucking-believable. </em>
</p><p>"Hey Sasha, you even try to steal any more food, and we will have Captain Levi chop you into bite-sized pieces, you got that?" I warned as I kicked open the front door and deposited my sack on the nearest flat surface before glaring into the back of Sasha's head.</p><p>"Who? Me?" Sasha replied with an exaggerated innocence that had me scoffing and rolling my eyes, "I would never!... Probably..."</p><p>
  <em>I can't be dealing with her shit. </em>
</p><p>"Hey! Did you guys wipe the mud off your shoes before you came in?!" Eren berated as he stormed towards us looking like a domestic goddess with his hair covered in a cleaning cloth and a broom in hand, a panicked look on his face that reminded me of my mother when I spilt anything in the house after she had done the spring cleaning. </p><p>"Huh? Are you kidding me?" I laughed at him as I gestured to the heavy lifting I had just been doing, you know, the <em>real</em> work, "Do you not see all this stuff we're carrying?"</p><p>"You <em>idiot</em>! You really think an excuse like that is gonna fly with captain Levi?!" Eren condemned, and I ground my teeth together as he continued to berate me as if he was my god damn mother, "Bad enough I had to pack up your bed for you this morning but now you pull this crap!"</p><p>"Oh, shut it! What are you, my mom now?!" I snapped as I jabbed my finger against Eren's chest and squaring up to me, I fully expected him to take the swing, was<em> hoping</em> he would take the swing, to finally have it out over this overbearing tension that had been over us all since Rian had died when suddenly the front door swung open with a bang to reveal Mikasa, Axe over her shoulder like a warrior goddess, and Historia who was carrying a good size pile of firewood. </p><p>
  <em>Oh man, that's not going to go down well.</em>
</p><p>"Were back", Mikasa announced as she kicked the door closed behind her, bringing herself to Armin's attention.</p><p>"Wait!" Armin fretted as he came up beside her, his hands fluttering around uselessly, "You were chopping firewood?!"</p><p>"Gotta stay in shape somehow." Mikasa shrugged as she walked further into the house and scoffing in amusement, I shook my head fondly at her stubbornness and earned myself another scowl from Eren. His overbearing attitude was really beginning to get on my last nerves, bad enough that he was up Aurora's ass every five minutes which I could tell was starting to frustrate her, but now he was going out of his way to micromanage this rag-tag thrown together unit in some ridiculous effort to relieve the burden from <em>Lieutenant</em> Aurora and <em>Captain</em> Levi who were both more than capable of shouldering the responsibilities they had.</p><p>
  <em>He's trying to take on the role Rian left behind, but Rian had never been this much of an ass about it! </em>
</p><p>"You got grabbed by a Titan! You should still be recovering!" Armin stressed as he tried to relieve Mikasa of the axe, but throwing him a 'get over it' look, Mikasa brushed past him and continued on with her day like the badass she was.</p><p>"I think you're wasting your breath, I caught her doing sit-ups earlier too", Eren whispered to Armin, ratting Mikasa out and feeling the last of my nerves snapping, I turned to him to give him a piece of my mind.</p><p>
  <em>Real tired of your shit Yaeger! </em>
</p><p>"Oh, so you're a nag <em>and</em> a spy!" I seethed as I threw my hands up in the air and spluttering in shock, Eren's face began to turn red because we both knew damn well where Mikasa was doing her sit-ups this morning, and it wasn't exactly for public viewing.</p><p>
  <em>Yeah, don't think I didn't notice that! </em>
</p><p>"What!" Eren exclaimed, his face going redder as he no doubt remembered Mikasa's half-dressed work out session with Aurora in the woods that he and I had stumbled across when on morning patrol, but unlike me who had turned away in decency, he had continued to stare with a slack-jawed as Mikasa performed said sit-ups, "How the hell is that spying-"</p><p>"Mikasa you know your only human right?" Armin continued to fret as he went after Mikasa, adding to the noise that Eren and I were already making.</p><p>"She was doing it right out in the open!" Eren defending, his eyes casting nervously between me and Mikasa who was blushing lightly despite pretending not to hear and refusing to look over in our direction.</p><p>
  <em>Perfect! Now she is embarrassed! </em>
</p><p>"Yeah?!" I challenged, knowing damn well that was no excuse, "Well I managed to look aw-"</p><p>"Funny." Sasha interrupted me mid-rant, and we all turned towards her as she smiled down into her rations crate with sadness, "It almost feels like we're back in the cadet corps doesn't it."</p><p>"Mmmhmm." Armin smiled to himself, and I cast my eyes downwards as I thought back on those days in training and realised those had been the best years of my life, "Chaos. Makes you wonder why they chose us for this new Levi squad. Protecting Eren and Historia is such an important mission."</p><p>
  <em>Because there is no one left thats why, all the other scouts are busy recovering or are ya know... dead.</em>
</p><p>"It's because we are all so talented, I assume." Sasha quipped and catching her shuffle quickly out the corner of my eye, I turned back towards her with suspicion as she attempted to move while hiding something down by her side.</p><p>
  <em>She better not have done what I think she has... </em>
</p><p>"Sasha, what did you just shove into your bag?" Armin sighed having caught Sasha's shifty behaviour too, and I took a deep breath through my nose because Sasha was right, this was exactly like being back at the Cadet Corps because apparently, I still live with children.</p><p>"It's something that is definitely not bread", Sasha muttered under her breath as her eyes widened, knowing she had been caught.</p><p>
  <em>For fuck sake... </em>
</p><p>"Really?!" I exasperated as I stormed over to her and attempted to take the bag from her, but Sasha being Sasha, was not quite ready to part with it, "What did I just tell you?!"</p><p>"Come on, put it back." Connie encouraged as he attempted to a swipe for her bag, but Sasha was too quick and dodged him however, in her effort to escape she backpedalled into Mikasa who still held the axe in her hand and was now glaring at Sasha.</p><p>
  <em>Oh, you're in for it now. </em>
</p><p>"Hey, can we focus here?! We gotta finish cleaning before the Captain, and Aurora get back!" Eren hollered over the rest of us, desperate to rope us in on the cleaning crusade without realising that it was all an excuse so the Captain could go and spend time with Aurora, <em>without</em> Eren being attached to the redhead's hip.</p><p>"I don't think they are coming back anytime soon, Eren." Connie implied with heavy innuendo, making Sasha bit her lip in amusement as they both struggled to contain their snickers at the prospect of what our Captain and newly promoted Lieutenant were up to in the woods.</p><p>
  <em>Children. Absolute children.</em>
</p><p>"What's that supposed to mean!?" Eren fumed, and choosing to use his outburst as a distraction, I lunged for Sasha's bag again, but the bread thief was having none of it and twisted away back out of my reach.</p><p>"Give back the bread Sasha!" I ranted, my temper getting the better of me as she danced between Connie and Armin who were trying to pin her in place, "Seriously come on!"</p><p><em>Since when has she been so light on her feet</em>!?</p><p>"How many times have you done this now? You know we have to conserve our rations!" Armin tried to reason and diving at her one more time, I managed to grab the bag and pull the bread out of its contents while pushing Sasha back by her head.</p><p>"You really think you can keep pulling this crap!" I stormed as I held the loaf as high as I could above Sasha's groping hands, "Well, I'm sick of it!"</p><p>"Please, shout that a little louder Jean. I don't think <em>all</em> of Mitras heard you." Aurora's voice deadpanned from behind me and dropping my hands immediately, I turned straight into a salute, bread in fist, meeting Aurora's unimpressed face and Captain Levi's dead eyes as they watched the scene unfold from the doorway.</p><p>
  <em>Shit... </em>
</p><p>Stepping into the room with the redhaired woman a step behind him, Captain Levi approached the table and ran his fingers on the underside of the wood before bringing his hands up to inspect, a deep scowl on his face that had Eren holding a hand to his head in embarrassment. </p><p>
  <em>Oh for walls sake, the room is immaculate!</em>
</p><p>"I am quite certain I gave you enough time." Captain Levi drawled and raising a single eyebrow to us all, Aurora shook her head in a mild disappointed that had my stomach churning with regret, "Never mind, we can discuss your utter failure at a later date." The Captain growled before turning his cold eyes on Eren, "Eren, Hange is anxious to get the experiment underway."</p><p>"Right, yes sir." Eren stammered before quickly disappearing upstairs to prepare and sighing deeply in frustration at those of us that remained, Aurora jerked her head in the direction of the stairs in a queue of 'get your asses in gear' that had us all scrambling after Eren.</p><p>
  <em>If I thought she was a hard-ass before... </em>
</p><p>Being the first to get my shit together, I hurried down the stairs eager not to disappoint Aurora any further when a sudden wet sound had me freezing in front of the slightly ajar door, giving me a full view of Captain Levi as he gently kissed Aurora before breaking away and brushing his fingers over Aurora's swollen lips.</p><p>
  <em>Err...</em>
</p><p>"What was that for?" Aurora asked puzzled with a slightly dazed look on her blushing face, something that I had never seen before and made her seem infinitely more human.</p><p>
  <em>I sometimes forget that she is just a woman, that she is more than a war hero. </em>
</p><p>"Because I can." Captain Levi drawled and smiling, Aurora cast her bright mismatched eyes across the room, completely unaware of my presence behind the door as the noise upstairs reassured her that she was alone with her Captain.</p><p>"This place looks like the outpost you took me to when the heavens decided to try and kill us through hyperthermia." Aurora reminisced and trying to take a step back to give them their privacy, the wooden floor creaked ever so slightly making me freeze once again lest I be discovering in my unintentional snooping. </p><p>
  <em>I do not want to be here...</em>
</p><p>"You mean when we fucked each other senseless, and you couldn't ride the next day properly, don't think I didn't notice that because I absolutely did." Captain Levi smirked making my ears and face burn at hearing something I <em>absolutely</em> did not want to hear as he grasped Aurora by her hips and pulled her body flush against his own, "You had me hard all morning watching you shift in your saddle knowing it was because I had been between your legs."</p><p>
  <em>Oh. My. God! </em>
</p><p>"Keep that talk up my love, and you won't be finding yourself between them any time soon." Aurora scoffed as she pushed him back playfully, her blush growing as she bit into her lip, taking coy steps back and I battled with my mind as the image of Aurora lying on her back, face flushed and skirt hitched up-</p><p>
  <em>Nope! Not happening! </em>
</p><p>"Hmmm," The Captain practically growled as he took a predatory step towards her and I felt my insides roll with sickness, and surprisingly anger at hearing him speak to her this way, "You say that, but I know it's your favourite place for me to be, that, and on my knees or is it the other way around I can never remember."</p><p>
  <em>Double nope! Not listening!</em>
</p><p>"I hope you enjoyed yourself in the woods <em>Sir</em>," Aurora smiled broadly as she once again stepped out of the Captain's reach, "Because you <em>will</em> be using your hand from now on."</p><p>
  <em>Nope. I'm done. Absolutely done. Fuck this shit I'm out.</em>
</p><p>"I think you're underestimating your own nee-" Captain Levi broke off suddenly as the floorboards creaked beneath my feet as I tried to creep away once again and walking briskly towards the door, the Captain rove it open to reveal me standing there, wide eyed and shitting myself.</p><p>
  <em>This is how I die...</em>
</p><p>"Err Captain... Lieutenant?" I stammered as I realised, I had been caught, my face flushing bright red as the Captain glared at me and Aurora looked anywhere but at me, "We're ready to go."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you lovelybaka, ancients, Alee_17, Tae_is_Bae, and probablysana and the 6 guests for the kudos, I'm glad your all continuing to enjoy this series!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Ghosts in the Daylight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Scouts experiment with Eren's Titan but little do they know they are being watched</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">AURORA </span>
</p><p>Steam billowed into the air as the deformed Titan's scream assaulted our ears before collapsing to the valley floor below in a grotesque display that had my insides rolling with nausea.</p><p>
  <em>This isn't working. </em>
</p><p>Three times Eren had transformed, and three times he had failed to produce anything resembling hardened Titan skin or whatever it was that the walls are made of and each time he had done so, his Titan had suffered, alarming us to the fact that despite the great power Eren's Titan held, it had very real limitations.</p><p>
  <em>Not only do we learn that monsters are protecting us from more monsters but every time we think we understand what we're dealing with, the posts get moved and were left behind...</em>
</p><p>"EREN!" Mikasa's cries of anguish rang up to where I was standing from the clifftop above with Levi, Hange, Moblit, Armin and Historia observing the malformed Titan body that had half of Eren's human body protruding from the nape in such a way that my anxiety was beginning to rise because if Eren's titan form was taking a hit, then his human body had to be suffering too.</p><p>
  <em>We have to stop this, if we push anymore, we risk harming Eren further and I can't allow that to happen.</em>
</p><p>"What's wrong, Eren!? Get up!" Hange stormed and I turned to glare at her as she continued to berate Eren like he wasn't already giving this his all, "The future of humanity depends on you god damn it! GET UP!"</p><p>"Enough!" I snapped as I took a step towards her, my hand gesturing to my brother as he lay collapsed in his Titan form, spent, "Can't you see that he is done?!"</p><p>"She's right," Levi reasoned as he stepped in front of me and blocked my path, his hand held out to me in warning, "This is the third time and his form has changed again. He's not even 10ms tall, and some of his body lacks muscle. Plus, Eren's scrawny ass is hanging out."</p><p>"I can see that!" Hange snarled, not willing to give up despite the cost it could bring, "Eren think you can still move?! Give us a signal or something will ya!?"</p><p>No response was given by way of movement or noise as steam continued to billow out from the rapidly disintegrating Titan below us, and crying out again in the anguish that I too was feeling at seeing Eren as he was, Mikasa jumped from the back off her horse before barrelling towards Eren, startling Jean, who reached out towards her to stop her hurtling into the boiling steam.</p><p>"Mikasa wait up!" Jean cried, but he was too late as Mikasa Clambered onto Eren's Titan form, wincing as this steam burnt her clothed skin but no less deterred. </p><p>
  <em>My brave girl...</em>
</p><p>"Great. The brats at it again, off to the rescue. She never learns does she." Levi drawled, and despite the truth of his words, I still slapped the back of my hand across his chest before shooting him an icy glare that had him shrugging, because that was <em>my</em> brat he was talking about.</p><p>"This isn't working Hange, he isn't responding." I said through gritted teeth as I pushed my way past Levi to meet Hange's eyes with challenge, "Eren can't go on like this, not unless your goal is to harm him so much that we have no chance of plugging wall Maria?" </p><p><em>and I know you don't want that..</em>.</p><p>Staring into my eyes, Hange's face fell as she realised that I wasn't just speaking as someone who cared deeply for Eren and his wellbeing but as someone who was working towards the same goals as she, and as such I wasn't fighting her on this for the sake of it, but rather because it was the truth.</p><p>"Agreed. We're done here." Hange relented before engaging her ODM gear and shooting off towards Eren, without a second glance in my direction, Moblit hot on her heels as he always was, "EREEEEN!"</p><p>Landing on Eren's back, Hange grabbed hold of Eren's human form and pried him free from the Titan corpse, much to Mikasa's dismay though what she was dismayed at I could not see as even more steam began to billow from the collapsed Titan the moment Hange started to release Eren from within.</p><p>
  <em>What the hell is going on down there?! </em>
</p><p>"HEY BE CAREFUL WITH HIM! CAN'T YOU SEE HES BLEEDING!?" Mikasa demanded and hearing that Eren was bleeding, I moved to engage my ODM gear when Levi's hand grasped my arm to prevent me from doing so and turning towards with a scowl for daring to stop me from coming to my brother's aid, I meet his cautioning eyes as she gently shook his head.</p><p>"There is more than enough down there, and you charging into the fray isn't going to help any more than if you stayed up here with me." Levi reasoned quietly as I continued to glare at him and sighing in frustration, I replaced my controls back on my ODM gear because he was right, Eren wasn't in any real danger, not from us at least.</p><p>
  <em>I need to save my anger for our enemies, not our friends. </em>
</p><p>“AAAAAAHHH LOOK AT HIS FACE!! QUICK GET A SKETCH!" Hange screamed and breaking away from Levi's gaze, my stomach rolled violently as the steam cleared enough for me to see what had Hange screaming so loudly.</p><p>
  <em>What have we done to him?! </em>
</p><p>"SECTION COMMANDER HAVE YOU NO COMPASSION AT ALL!" Moblit chastised though he did as he was bid and began to hastily sketch, in the book he was carrying, a copy of Eren's face, or rather lack of, after he had been cut free from his Titan by Mikasa's shaking blades.</p><p>"My god..." I breathed as I stared down at Eren's exposed skeletal face, eyes missing and tongue hanging, blood and gore on full display that had my mind reeling as I pictured another skeletal face though unlike the one below me, this one had strawberry blonde hair matted with blood as it lay rotting in some godforsaken field.</p><p>
  <em>Will his body really look like that by the time it is safe enough for me to bring him home? </em>
</p><p>"Not the outcome we hoped for." Levi drawled as he turned away from the scene below, but not before brushing his knuckles gently across my cheekbone to pull me out of my tormented thoughts that must have been clear on my face, "Were still a long way from being able to use Eren's Titan to seal the wall."</p><p>
  <em>A long way from bringing Rian home... A long way from peace...</em>
</p><p>"Yes... We've known all along this would be like grasping proverbial straws." Armin sighed from behind though I could not see his face for I was too fixated on watching Eren's healing form below cradled between Mikasa and Hange. Armin was, however, absolutely right; we had known this would be like taking a wild shot in the dark, but even then, I had somewhat hoped that maybe, just maybe, we could get this one thing right.</p><p>
  <em>We are running on borrowed time, either we plug Wall Maria soon or we risk Wall Rose being compromised for real and that still isn't accounting for our enemies in the interior who are actively working against us as we speak. All in all, we are fucked if we don't make a breakthrough with hardening soon... </em>
</p><p>"The plan is strategically sound and simple in theory; all we need is to get Eren there." Levi mused, his deep voice soft and oddly reassuring despite the fact he was failing to see that this wasn't solely on Eren's shoulders, but ours too, "This might still work but it's going to depend on him."</p><p>"That and there is the question of<em> do</em> we still have the time to work with?" I added, finally turning to face Levi, Armin and Historia the latter of which had yet to speak since we had arrived here, "Those bastards are still out there and if they are smart, they won't wait for us to get our act together. Sooner or later, they will make another try for the walls and knowing that I had killed half of the Scouting force sent for me, I would strike while resistance is at a minimum."</p><p>Silence fell as Armin and Levi's eyebrows pulled together, both deep in thought over my words and turning back to peer down at Eren, I sighed in relief as pink muscle had began to knit back together around his eye sockets, blood no longer flowing.</p><p>
  <em>He's going to be alright… </em>
</p><p>"Experiments over! All troops withdraw at once!" Hange called out as she and Mikasa wrapped Eren in a cloak and helped him down from his Titan as he stumbled blindly to retreat.</p><p>"Withdrawing!" Lauder answered before turning to Jean and issuing orders," Go! Make sure we weren't seen!"</p><p>"Right!" Jean nodded before kicking into his horse and riding out of the clearing. Turning to follow Jean's lead and head for my own horse tied up not too far away, I spun on my heel and collided with Levi before he grasped hold of my face and surprisingly brought our lips together with an almost bruising force that had my body singing for him.</p><p>I always wanted him, but ever since we had slept together after I had broken from my fever, my body was in overdrive. It was like I always needed him, no, I was <em>driven</em> to be as close to him as humanly possible, to lose myself in the joining to the point where I didn't know where he ended, and I began. Maybe it was my way of distracting myself from my grief, by using sex to mask the pain however momentarily, but somewhere deep down, I knew it was more than that.</p><p>
  <em>Ever since that fever dream and I had seen the lights, real or not, I had felt a connection to him that had always been there except now it was stronger and judging by the way Levi couldn't keep his hands off me for long, I know he feels it too... </em>
</p><p>"You're to ride back... to the house... with Eren...and take... command... I'm going ... with Hange's group.... We're headed for... Trost... I don't... know... how long... I will be..." Levi panted between burning kisses, the fast encroaching separation adding a desperate edge to the way his lips moved against my own and though my body was responding in kind and I wanted nothing more than a re-enactment of this morning's session, I knew we had work to do.</p><p>
  <em>Sorry my love, but this will have to wait... that and didn't I make a very pariticular after your brazen attitude this morning? </em>
</p><p>"I'd say... hurry back.... but I meant... what I... said... this morning... about your.... <em>hand</em>...." I teased between each searing kiss knowing I was lying through my teeth but loving the way Levi groaned in frustration as he grasped my hips harder in retaliation, so with a sly smile on my lips, I danced back and out of his grip, my eyes landing on the noticeable strain in his trousers that only seemed to grow with my blatant gaze. Reaching out for me once again, I allowed Levi to close the gap between us though this time he kept his lips to himself as his fingers threaded through mine, a frustrated smile pulling at his lips as he began to lead us back to the trees where the others were disappearing.</p><p>"<em>Unbelievable</em>." Levi groaned and placing a last chaste kiss on his cheek to soothe his wounded pride, we both headed towards the trees, hand in hand, when suddenly an unpleasant shiver ran down my spine. </p><p>Twisting back around, my eyes narrowed darted across the landscape looking for anything or anyone out of place because as I stared at the trees, which appeared every inch as they should, I couldn't shake the feeling that out there, amongst the never ending green, we were being watched.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span class="u">THE RIPPER </span>
</p><p>Steam rose through the trees from a nearby clearing, giving us a breakthrough in our search for the vessel and smiling to myself, I spat out the blade of grass I was chewing on and pulled my spyglass free before peering through the scope and feeling my grin spread wider.</p><p>
  <em>Gotcha. </em>
</p><p>Standing on a clifftop above a clearing that held a steaming Titan, the runt was stood with his back to me as he spoke to a hooded figure, but that wasn't what had me smiling like the cat that got the cream, no it was the flash of red hair that caught my eye and following it to its source, I appraised the woman standing next to Levi with a wicked smirk. </p><p>
  <em>So this little thing is what all the trouble is about...</em>
</p><p>Oh, but she was a beauty, all hips and ass that filled out her uniform like a God-ordained miracle with a pair of tits to match and the way she was standing, back straight and arms crossed just oozed pride and authority. This was a woman that got her way and got it often. This was a woman confident in her own abilities, in her own <em>strength</em>. This was the Sparhawke Bitch.</p><p>
  <em>And if she is here, and the Titan's vessel is below, then Historia ain't far away either... All being held in one place, mighty convenient.</em>
</p><p>A grapple line embedded itself beside in the wood of the big ass tree I was perched upon, hiding out of clear sight and lowering my spyglass I watched with boredom as Caven appeared beside me, her usual expressionless face slightly alight with news.</p><p>
  <em>This should be good. </em>
</p><p>"Scouts have been spotted nearby on horseback, Captain. They seem to be surveying the area, likely looking for us." Caven reported as she settled onto the branch beside me, her eyes narrowing at the sight of my spyglass. </p><p>"Good." I smiled, it seems the runt was still as disciplined as I remember, only an idiot would leave the area unchecked after sending up that amount of steam for every prick to see for a miles radius. </p><p>
  <em>Seems somethings I taught stuck huh, Levi. </em>
</p><p>Bringing the spyglass back up to my eye, I peered through the mirrors once again only this time i felt my throat go dry as I spotted the Sparhawke Bitch once again, however, unlike before when she had been observing the vessel like a queen from a throne, she was now in the arms of the runt, their lips crashing together like angsty teenagers on a forbidden tryst that had a touch of remorse pushing at my brain.</p><p><em>So it's true then, Levi took the Bitch to bed… and here was me hoping the runt had more sense than that... No matter, she will die all the same.</em> </p><p>Unable to look away from what was quickly becoming a handsy display, I watched from the shadows of the trees, obscured from view, as the lovebirds remained stupidly oblivious when suddenly the redhaired vixen danced out of the runt's grip, making him chase after her like a desperate fool, before wrapping her hands in his and placing a loving kiss to his cheek, both of them smiling at each like idiots, that weirdly had my insides twisting with jealously.</p><p>
  <em>What? That makes no sense. That runt has nothing I want... </em>
</p><p>Twisting the visor on my spyglass, I sharped the focus so I could follow the pair with my eyes, hoping to see which route they took out of the clearing, when suddenly the redhaired Bitch froze in place before whipping back around knocking the breath out of my chest as her burning glare fixed right at me.</p><p>
  <em>There is no way she can see us! No way! Not even if she had the eyes of a Hawke whose name she held there was no fucking way!</em>
</p><p>Staring for what seemed like an eternity, the woman finally allowed me to breath as she cast her eyes across the landscape, searching for anything out of sight and as she brought her eyes back over to where I was hiding, I couldn't help the foreboding feeling that settle in my gut as I pictured another's face, so like her own, as she stood defiant despite the knife I held at her throat.</p><p>
  <em>Bitch has her daddy's colouring, but she is the image of her mother... I wonder...</em>
</p><p>"What do you see captain?" Caven asked from beside me, her voice as dead as a doornail from the emptiness inside and moving my lips before I even had a god damn chance to think, I answered her with what I was truly thinking.</p><p>"A ghost."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>huge thanks to Chrlotte, Whitsky, Andrea_Alexis, WhatATemporaryFeeling, lovelybaka, ancients, Alee_17, Tae_is_Bae, probablysana and the 11 guests that left kudos on this fic! I hope you are enjoying the story :D</p><p>As always I love hearing from you, let me know what your thinking about the story so far or even any advice on improving my writing! All is welcome :D:D:D</p><p>Edit: due to uni work load and sadly testing positive for Covid 19, I will be taking a short break so as not to over do myself. I am hoping this won’t be too long and I apologise for the the break :( I can promise Aurora will be back soon, ready to show the world just who and what she is :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Devil is in the Detail</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">ERWIN </span>
</p><p>Frustration bled through my fingers as I pinched the missive between them, my eyes skimming back over the less than desired information it contained on Eren's recent attempt at hardening.</p><p>
  <em>We are getting nowhere fast. </em>
</p><p>"I see. Another failure then." I sighed as I tried to contain my disappointment at not being closer to reaching that damn cellar, "Imagine if it had worked, we could have plugged the hole in Shiganshina in less than a day."</p><p>
  <em>We're so close... so close to learning the secrets the Yaeger's and Sparhawke's were guarding... the secrets of this world... </em>
</p><p>"What we need is information, it's not like there are books on the subject." Levi drawled from his seat at the table in my dimly light quarters at the Karanes garrison, his eyebrows pulled together in a deep frown, "That would make things too easy. We do have Krista- no, Historia Reiss, maybe she can give us some insight into the nature of the walls."</p><p>
  <em>The key to everything if Pastor Nick is to be believed. </em>
</p><p>"I did some digging and found a report about her life before the cadets." I informed Levi as my thoughts drifted to the golden blonde woman-child that had by chance fallen under my command, "The illegitimate daughter of Lord Reiss, hers was not a happy childhood."</p><p>The reports had all appeared somewhat mundane until I had come across older, obscured documents pertaining to Historia's mother who had been killed by cutthroats on the farm she worked on, her throat slashed ear to ear, just like Aurora's mother and father had been, just like her great Aunt and grandparents.</p><p>
  <em>If Historia is the key then Aurora is the link, her family binds all of this together one way or another, I'm sure of it, and I'm even more convinced of who is at the centre of all of this. </em>
</p><p>"Lord Reiss is the key to this somehow." I mused, my mind tripping over itself in a hurry to keep up, "Why would a mere regional lord know the secrets of the walls?"</p><p>"The same reason why apparent commoners like the Yaegers and the Sparhawkes know I suspect, though what that reason is appears to beyond us." Levi sighed in frustration as he ran a hand over his face, his eyes circled by dark shadows that made him look more tired than usual, "Do you ever get the feeling that the answer is staring us right in the face, but we're too focused on trying to figure out the bigger picture to see the finer details?"</p><p>"It does appear to be so. They do say the devil is in the detail..." I trailed off thoughtfully, maybe Levi was right, perhaps we had been looking at this all wrong. Maybe we should be focusing not on <em>why</em> they want Eren, Aurora and Historia but instead on <em>who</em> those three are, or rather what the enemy perceives them to be.</p><p>"I can see the wheels turning under those ridiculous eyebrows." Levi quipped with a slightly hostile edge, "Out with it."</p><p>"Given what we know about our enemy," I began somewhat hesitant after all this was Levi's woman we were talking about, "what is it you think they see when they look at Aurora Sparhawke?"</p><p>"A threat", Levi replied without missing a bit, a note of pride underlying his otherwise emotionless drawl. </p><p>
  <em>Of course, he would be proud.</em>
</p><p>"Why?" I pressed, eager to hear his assessment no matter how biased.</p><p>"They believe she knows something that she doesn't," Levi began, his fingers drumming against the table, the only outward sign of his frustration with the issue we were discussing, "that her family passed on their secrets to her, that she, despite her own belief, is well-liked by the citizens of Trost and by extension Rose, a hero for the people they want to keep in the dark. A rallying figure should she chose to share the knowledge they believe she has." </p><p>
  <em>A false prophet...</em>
</p><p>"Agreed," I smiled grimly, relief settling through me as another saw what I did, "Especially given the peculiar terminology Pastor Nick used when he called her a false prophet, they clearly see her as a threat to their authority. Now Eren?"</p><p>"Another threat though this one has a more obvious power behind it. He is a boy from Shiganshina who fully aligns with the Scouts over bureaucracy. His father has secrets hidden within their home in Shiganshina, secrets that presumably are the same as the Sparhawke's seeing as both families are tied together," Levi drawled before his eyes narrowed as they glared into my own, "but we already knew that Erwin so what are you getting at?"</p><p>"Historia is the odd piece in the puzzle." I began as I turned to look out at the window at the dimly lit streets of Karanes, the innocent face of Historia burning in my mind, "Eren was summoned to the Capital in an attempt to seize control of him, Aurora was likely summoned so that when they did try to kill her, she could not escape unlike previous attempts against her family. She is the last of her line now and they are desperate to finish it, but Historia, she reads as neither a threat or a power piece, so what's the angle there? What do they need her for? What do they <em>see</em> in her?"</p><p>"Running on the current trend," Levi sighed as his chair pushed back and he stood to leave the room, "nothing good."</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span class="u">EREN </span>
</p><p>The muffled sound of chatter filtered through the old wooden door as I lay in my bed like an invalid, yesterday's failure sitting heavy with me. Why couldn't I get this one thing, right? So much was depending on me being able to harden, so many had given their lives so that I could plug Wall Maria. Aurora, Armin and Mikasa depended on me to take them home.</p><p>
  <em>If I can't harden my skin, what was the point of all their deaths? What was the point of Rian's... </em>
</p><p>Stopping that trail of thought dead on its feet, I forced myself from my bed, unwilling to lie there a second longer feeling sorry for myself when my brother had given his life in defence of my own and made my way towards the sound of voices in the kitchen.</p><p>"What are you doing?!" Mikasa scolded as soon as I came into sight, and staring at her pale face I felt my mouth go dry as I was struck by how pretty she looked in the fading light pouring through the windows, "You should still be in bed?!"</p><p>"She's not wrong", Aurora muttered and following the sound of her voice to where she was sat at the table, her rifle dismantled in front of her as she cleaned it with her nimble fingers, my heart wretched as I met her face, framed by chin-length wild hair, as her eyes passed between Mikasa and I before she raised one thick red eyebrow at me. </p><p>
  <em>As much as her hairstyle suits her, I hate it with everything I have...</em>
</p><p>When I had first seen Aurora with <em>that</em> haircut as we left Karanes, I had died inside knowing that despite my mad rantings in the medical wing I had done absolutely nothing to prevent what I had seen from coming to pass, and now as she sat there with her frustratingly knowing gaze making me blush, I was terrified for her because the dark future I had seen where she lay dying in the cobble streets may come to pass at any given day now and I was powerless to stop it.</p><p>
  <em>Doesn't mean I won't stop trying, as long as there is breath in my body, I won't allow her to die. </em>
</p><p>"I'm alright." I muttered, my face flushing more as Aurora's lips pulled in a slight smile as she looked back to Mikasa, "I already slept the whole day, besides it's my fault the plan got shelved, so the least I can do is help."</p><p>"You tried, didn't you?! Don't beat yourself up!" Mikasa defending furiously and I couldn't stop the smile pulling at my lips as I watched her fierce determination.</p><p>
  <em>She's always defending me, and protecting me… </em>
</p><p>"All I care about is getting a chance to bring down the Beast Titan." Connie said suddenly, pulling my eyes from Mikasa to him as his hand that was clutching the knife he was using to peel potatoes shook violently, "That hairy bastard took everything from me, I want it <em>dead</em>."</p><p>"Connie..." Aurora whispered softly as she stood from her seat and came to Connie side, her hand wrapping gently around his before taking the knife from him and placing it on the table, "It's about time you switched your lookouts, Mikasa go with him."</p><p>Nodding his head once as tears filled his eyes, Connie left the house after giving Aurora a grateful look, Mikasa following closely behind and watching her as she left, I felt a strange sense of loss as she disappeared out the doorway, a loss that I instantly wanted to stop by following after her. </p><p>
  <em>What am I doing?</em>
</p><p>I didn't understand why I was feeling like this, after all, I had known Mikasa for years, had grown up with her, lived with her, so why was it now I was feeling these strange things when she was near, why was it now that when I looked at her face, I didn't see a sister as I did when I looked at Aurora, but instead I saw something else?</p><p>
  <em>I don't understand... </em>
</p><p>"Must be nice, you and the others know what you want." Historia spoke up softly and turning to her in shock at hearing her speak for the first time in days, I stared at the back of her head as she continued to talk in a mournful tone, "Even if it won't be easy to get, but with Ymir gone, I've lost my purpose, I don't even know what I'm fighting for anymore."</p><p>Feeling the sorrow in her words, I turned to look at Aurora for help who had returned to cleaning her rifle and meeting her eyes, the red-head simply shrugged before picking up the barrel of her gun to stare down the shaft providing no help at all, though judging by the way her eyebrows were pulled together and the grim set of her mouth I knew that her silence was more to do with the topic being about Ymir as opposed to apathy towards Historia's pain.</p><p>Ymir had helped Reiner escape, and she helped them escape because Aurora chose mercy over killing her in front of Historia, I knew that in Aurora's mind, her weakness allowed Reiner and Bertolt to escape, but that didn't change the fact that to Historia, Ymir was everything and I knew from my time captive in the woods, Historia was everything to Ymir.</p><p>
  <em>Ymir did what she did out of love and to protect Historia, I can't fault her for wanting to protect the ones she cared about. </em>
</p><p>"Saving her is something to fight for." I encouraged and saw out of the corner of my eye Aurora raise her eyes to glare at me in response to my words, but she could get the hell over it. If the roles were reversed, I know she would have made the same choices as Ymir, she would have done anything to keep us safe.</p><p>"Maybe." Historia hummed softly before turning around to face me, "At the time I didn't understand what she was doing, I just wanted her to be safe. Since then I've been thinking, when she left Ymir chose her own path. I have no right to change that, she doesn't need me to."</p><p>"Finally, it's about time you started talking again." I smiled, it appears Historia was ready to re-join us even if she is broken inside, "When we got here, you told us your story, but then you just kept your mouth shut, you stopped smiling."</p><p>"Why should I bother." Historia huffed, her eyebrows pulling together, giving her the look of a child on the cusp of a tantrum, "I'm sorry but the sweet little Krista you thought you knew; well she doesn't exist anymore."</p><p>"She never did to begin with", Aurora stated suddenly without taking her eyes off her gun, a smudge of dirt of her face from where she must have wiped her hand.</p><p>"What?" Historia demanded, anger blazing in her eyes as she glared at my sister, making me groan internally.</p><p>
  <em>And they say I'm abrasive! </em>
</p><p>"Come off it," Aurora scoffed as she looked up and met Historia's anger, entirely unfazed "no one is as happy as you were pretending to be, nor that selfless. It wasn't natural and quite frankly, irritating."</p><p>
  <em>Well, she's not entirely wrong, it was annoying the way Historia pretended to be little miss sunshine all the time; still, Aurora didn't have to put it like that! </em>
</p><p>"She's being an ass about it, but she's not wrong" I interjected before Historia could reply while shooting a glare towards my sister who rolled her eyes, "I didn't really like you when you were nice all the time, it was exhausting."</p><p>"Oh", Historia muttered crestfallen, her anger subsiding back to sadness, and I found I preferred the anger in her eyes to the endless wallowing.</p><p>"Well, now you're just a normal girl, stupidly honest like someone else I know," I said pointedly which only made Aurora smile as she returned to re-assembling her rifle, "but normal enough. Still, you don't have to decide about Ymir yet... there is a part of me that still thinks..." I trailed off as my last clear memory of Ymir rose to the surface.</p><p>******</p><p>"<em>Hey, it's not your fault for not remembering, it was the same for Reiner and me." Bertolt reassured quietly as he turned to look back at me as I slowly lost consciousness, "Eren doesn't remember either." </em></p><p>
  <em>"Is that how it works?" Ymir frowned as she looked down at her hands before looking back to Bertolt with narrowed eyes, "You hold that against me?" </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Don't think so... I mean, I dunno." Bertolt admitted as I lost my fight against Reiner's hold, "Suppose I have to believe you didn't want to eat anyone."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"How long were you wandering outside the wall?" Bertolt asked as my eyes drooped heavily, and darkness clouded the edge of my vision.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, about sixty years." Ymir sighed as I lost the last of my consciousness, "Hell on earth, every day was like waking up into a nightmare." </em>
</p><p>**************</p><p>
  <em>How did I forget that? </em>
</p><p>"Eren?" Aurora asked concerned and coming back to myself I saw her and Historia both watching me with varying levels of worry, but before I could explain or reassure, the front door swung open to reveal Sasha and the others as they piled into the kitchen.</p><p>"Hange and the others are back." Sasha informed Aurora with a salute, and sighing deeply, Aurora rose to her feet with a small smile on her face, "We are meeting in the main room."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I apologize that this chapter isn't action packed but I promise that the action is coming soon!<br/>Thank your for the comments, kudos, subscriptions and bookmarks! An even bigger thank you for sticking with the fic! I am feeling much better now and thought to update another chapter before I plough on an catch up on Uni work!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Wheel Begins to Roll</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">LEVI </span>
</p>
<p>"Now what's this about?" I drawled as we all settled into the main room and taking my seat, my eyes followed Aurora as she brushed passed me to lean against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, unintentionally drawing focus to her shapely hips and I had to force myself to stop staring lest a look like a lecherous fool.</p>
<p>
  <em>Two and a half years and I'm still completely enthralled by this woman... </em>
</p>
<p>"I'm sorry but pastor Nick..." Hange trailed off, unsure of what to say next and turning away from my love, I gave Hange my full attention as she found the words to speak, "He was murdered today in the Trost barracks. Nick was tortured by the interior military police and then was murdered."</p>
<p>
  <em>Well damn... </em>
</p>
<p>Shocked gasps filled the room, except from Aurora whose eyes flickered to mine with an apprehension I shared, it seemed that whoever was against us was upping the ante and setting this wheel rolling.  </p>
<p>"I figured the church would want to get their hands-on Nick when they found out he was cooperating with the scouts, that's why I hid his identity and had him stay in the barracks." Hange continued as she stared down at her hands, her face a mask of shame, "I never imagine they would use soldiers to kill him. This is my fault; I should have been more careful." </p>
<p>
  <em>How Naïve.</em>
</p>
<p>She wasn't wrong, after all, she should have been more careful. These weren't rank amatuers we were dealing with, these people had hunted an entire family to the brink of extinction, hid one of the biggest secrets from all of mankind and have enough sway to interfere with the military, it was only a matter of time they found the good Pastor to find out just how much he had let slip and she should have known that.</p>
<p>"They tortured him, presumably for information" Hange summarised, her voice breaking ever so slightly, "Did they just want to know what he passed on to us?"</p>
<p>"Most likely, but these are the interior MPs that we are dealing with, so you can bet that there is something deeper at work here, something related to why they wanted these three." I gestured to Eren, Historia and Aurora who were all close by before turning back to Hange to find out how much Nick had gave up, "Now how many nails was the good Pastor missing? " I asked and shook my head at the shock on Hange's face before pressing further, "How many? You saw, right?"</p>
<p>"I only caught a glimpse of him" Hange grimaced, her distaste for the topic of torture plain to see, "But all the nail beds I saw were empty."</p>
<p>
  <em>Well well, good old Nick had a pair of balls on him then, that is a pleasant surprise and one that works very well for us. </em>
</p>
<p>"People who talk, talk after one." Aurora stated, and as everyone including myself looked to her in surprise at knowing such information, she shrugged before adding, "My Grandfather told me that during one of my training sessions, and knowing what we do now, I guess he learnt it through first-hand experience."</p>
<p>
  <em>As long as it was his own experience and not hers, then I can sleep soundly... </em>
</p>
<p>"He was right. If they don't talk, ripping off more won't make a difference." I smiled grimly, my respect for the dead priest growing, "I'm impressed. I didn't think highly of Pastor Nick but whatever his faults he stuck by his beliefs until the end. Which means they have no idea we know about the Reiss family, but the government is up to something and we have a target on our backs."</p>
<p>"Agreed. We need to-" Aurora began after pushing herself off the wall but she was interrupted by the front door swinging open with a bang to reveal a dishevelled Nifa as she stormed into the room and handed me a missive with a look of sheer panic.</p>
<p>
  <em>That is never a good sign. </em>
</p>
<p>"Captain Levi sir, I have a message from Commander Erwin. I went to tell him about Pastor Nick, but he gave me this and sent me off." Nifa explained before stepping back and greeting Aurora with a sad smile which the woman returned while I opened the missive and read Erwin's scrawl, my eyes darkening in accordance with the warning etched in ink.</p>
<p>"What is it?" Aurora asked softly as she came over to my side, having seen the fury in my eye, and placed her hand on my shoulder, her thick eyebrows drawing together in concern.</p>
<p>"Get your gear now, we're leaving!" I ordered pushing back from the table, "Make it look like we were never here!"</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span class="u">AURORA </span>
</p>
<p>The barking of dogs echoed through the trees as we watched the cottage that we had been staying in mere hours ago being raided by numerous MPs with their hounds. It was impressive really, how quickly they had found us, they clearly had someone in charge who had experience hunting human beings.</p>
<p><em>I knew I felt someone watching us in the woods, crafty bastards. Whoever is hunting us has the persistence of a dog with a bone</em>.</p>
<p>"That was close!" Connie fretted as he watched the scene below unfold with sweat running down his face, "What if they had caught us? Would they rip our nails off too?"</p>
<p>"Yes", I stated simply and heard Connie and Jean gulp in fear, and they should be afraid because there was nowhere we could go and be safe. They would find us, and they would kill us, so the only solution left now was to find them and kill them before they had the chance. </p>
<p>
  <em>Kill or be killed, that's the only option left now. </em>
</p>
<p>"How did Commander Erwin know they were headed here?" Hange asked from behind and turning around to face the unit, I saw the fear that Connie and Jean had shown clear on the faces around me, all except Levi's.</p>
<p>"The Government has passed down some new orders. There has been a freeze on all scout activity outside the wall," Levi explained before turning to look me dead in the eye with an edge about him, "and we are to hand over Eren, Historia and Aurora."</p>
<p>
  <em>Ah, I wondered how long they were going to ask nicely for. </em>
</p>
<p>"Captain," Nifa spoke up, and we all turned to look at her as she wrung her hands together nervously, "I didn't have time to tell you, but some MPs came for the Commander right after I left him. They took him into custody."</p>
<p>"What?!" Hange demanded like she hadn't seen this coming from a mile away, "Like he is some kind of criminal?!"</p>
<p>"What did you expect?" I asked as I moved forward to stand by Levi's side all the while wondering when everyone was going to wake up and face reality, "That summons was their way of playing nicely, now they are bringing this fight out into the open because we've given them no choice. The Commander is simply in their way."</p>
<p>
  <em>No more working from the shadows. No more hiding. It's all or nothing now. </em>
</p>
<p>"They really are going to protect the secrets of the walls at any cost, aren't they?... <em>Why</em>?" Hange stressed as she tried to piece together out enemies' motives, not that it mattered, it was them or us, simple as that, "What exactly are they after Eren, Aurora and Historia for? They don't want them dead, as far as we know, so what are they planning?"</p>
<p>
  <em>Nothing I want to see come to pass any time soon. </em>
</p>
<p>"Who knows," Levi drawled before bringing his hand up to brush the hair back from my face, his face impassive but his eyes burning with rage, "but they want these three, and they aren't being subtle about it, which makes lingering here dangerous. We will move all of them to Trost."</p>
<p>"We're going to the same district where Pastor Nick was just murdered?", Moblit asked incredulously, and for the first time this evening, I smiled because I knew where Levi's head was at.</p>
<p>
  <em>Trost is full of people to witness the MPs if they choose to attack, that and its full of lovely tall buildings for us to use our ODM gear, well... the ones left standing after the Titan attack that is.</em>
</p>
<p>"Heading toward the interior would be worse, with Trost in a panic it should be easy for us to slip in and if things do go all to hell, we can use these in the city." Levi countered as he gestured to his ODM gear and my smile widened at the prospect of finally being on more even footing.</p>
<p>Scouts have always had the upper hand when it comes to ODM gear, after all, we get the most use out of them since we are the ones taking the fight to the Titans on a monthly basis and as such our ODM gear was an extension of us, something the MPs would never be able to best us at.</p>
<p>"We don't know the identity of our enemy yet; I have an idea of how we can change that." Levi drawled as his hand came to my face again though this time he pinched a lock of my hair bright red hair between his finger and his thumb and understanding dawned on me because out of the three of us wanted by the government, I had the most distinctive appearance, I would be easiest to spot in the crowds of Trost. </p>
<p>
  <em>He means to use me as bait. </em>
</p>
<p>Meeting my eyes, I saw the silent question in Levi's eyes and trusting him without say, I nodded my consent knowing that whatever he had planned was our best hope right now and pride shining with the trust I placed in him, Levi brushed his knuckles across my jaw in an oddly intimate moment that had someone coughing in embarrassment.  </p>
<p>"Hange, I'm going to need to lend some of your squad." Levi asserted as he broke away from my gaze and seeing something in his demeanour, the section commander didn't question his reasoning and simply nodded.</p>
<p>"No problem." Hange agreed before turning to her soldiers with her back straight, "Alright, I'm going after Commander Erwin, Moblit is with me. The rest of you will go with Levi."</p>
<p>"Rodger." Hange's team answered in unison, and I felt a prickle of excitement run down my spine because this was it, we were finally pushing back, we were taking the fight to them.</p>
<p>
  <em>Time to find out who is running this shit show and show them what it means to be our enemy. </em>
</p>
<p>Moving off towards her horse, Hange caught my eye as Moblit climbed upon his mount and waited for her to follow and pausing, she pointed her finger at me with her best section commander look and gave me an order.</p>
<p>"Be careful, you hear me?" Hange commanded,"I don't want to be left dealing with doom and gloom over there if you get yourself killed."</p>
<p>
  <em>I don't plan on it.</em>
</p>
<p>"Loud and clear, Ma'am" I smiled, teeth on full display as Levi scoffed, "Though I think the time for care has been and gone. It's time we showed them who they are dealing with."</p>
<p>Nodding solemnly, Hange smiled one last time before mounting her horse when suddenly Eren cried out for her to stop as he ran after her with a sheet of paper in his hand.</p>
<p>"Hange! I remembered a conversation between Ymir and Bertolt. I wrote it down for you, it's all there." Eren stammered hastily as he thrust the paper up for Hange to take and hearing those traitors names, I ground my teeth together as I pictured what it would be like to cut of their heads.</p>
<p>
  <em>First, the MPs and then we find </em>
  <strong>
    <em>them</em>
  </strong>
  <em> and bring them to justice. </em>
</p>
<p>"Thank you, I'll take a look at it later", Hange promised as she stuffed the paper into her pocket before kicking into her horse and leaving nothing but dust in her wake.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for the kudos, subscriptions, comments and bookmarks! I promise the action begins next chapter and a massive thank you for sticking with the story despite my long intervals between updates. I'm so excited for you guys to read what I have planned in this book so stay tuned!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Monsters Behind Human Faces</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Warning- mentions of sexual and physical assault</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">JEAN </span>
</p><p>Trost was packed with people full of smiles and joy as they set about erecting decorations over demolished buildings and ruined streets as if that would hide the fact that barely a few months ago, Titans roamed and painted these very houses with the blood of their neighbours, as if they could easily forget the sacrifice that was given to save their lives.</p><p>
  <em>I wish I could forget... I wish I could forget it all.</em>
</p><p>"Try not to walk clustered together, we will stand out." Captain Levi called out, drawing attention to those of us who were in disguises just as planned, "Aurora, Eren, Historia, just act normal."</p><p>Nodding, I picked up my pace while trying not to scratch at the wig on my head that was driving me insane and came up beside Aurora, who was blatantly allowing herself to be seen and was scowling at the throngs of people who went about their lives without a care in the world. Of course, that was the plan, Aurora was very distinctive in terms of appearance, and she was well known in Trost, if our enemies were indeed here, they would be looking for her assuming that Eren was close by, and that's where I came in.</p><p>
  <em>Not that I agreed to this but hey, what do my objections stand for? </em>
</p><p>Eren and Historia weren't with us, that would have been stupid, instead they were hidden out of sight with Hange's squad and Armin and me, despite my refusal to be Eren's body double again, were walking in disguises as the wanted pair with Aurora in an attempt to play bait, something which wasn't sitting well with me at all.</p><p>It wasn't that I was playing Eren, again, or that Armin was dressed as a woman which he was making a surprisingly good pass as that was bugging me, but rather the fact that Captain Levi was willingly using Aurora to lure our enemy out even though whoever was hunting us wanted her just as much as Eren and Historia.</p><p>
  <em>I thought he cared about her, so why is he willing to risk her this way? </em>
</p><p>"Why is the royal flag hanging everywhere?" Connie asked suddenly, drawing me back to the flags dangling from the ruined rooftops and my mind reeled at the realisation of what day it was.</p><p>
  <em>Has that really come around again? Where has the time gone? </em>
</p><p>"Today must be the anniversary of the king's coronation, sometimes they hand out extra rations to celebrate it", Sasha explained as she looked wide-eyed at the hastily erected markets that held nothing to the festival pavilions that were here the year before, one ore thing the Titans had shit all over. </p><p>"Huh," Connie muttered, dumbfounded by the notion, maybe they didn't do things like this in Ragako.</p><p>
  <em>They won't be doing much of anything anymore in Ragako...</em>
</p><p>"Can I have your attention please!" A deep voice hollered over the gathering crowds, and pausing in the throng of people grouped together we all turned to the stage that had been put up and watched as the MPs made their address, "King Fritz has been moved by the hardships in Trost and as such he is donating the royal family's reserves. Form a line, there is plenty to go around!"</p><p>"Long live King Fritz!" the people of Trost began to cheer with enthusiasm and it made me sick to my stomach, they hadn't cheered like this when the soldiers had liberated their city.</p><p>
  <em>They had cheered for Aurora though... </em>
</p><p>"All that food and he's just giving it away!?" Sasha asked incredulously as if the notion of charity was utterly unheard of or maybe it was just that she couldn't apply the idea of it considering how she coveted food like a bear preparing for winter whenever it was on the go.</p><p>"It's not as if he needs it all, easier to control people when they are not starving." Captain Levi drawled as he came up beside Aurora and looking over at both their faces, I could see the distrust in their eyes and knew it wasn't because of our current predicament, it was because they both knew what it meant to be truly hungry and that nothing in this life came for free.</p><p>
  <em>Every time I think that I've been hard done by, I look at their faces and realise I have no idea what real hardship is, even Eren, as annoying as he is, knows what it means to fight for the right to survive in this cruel world...</em>
</p><p>"Behind us! Look out!" Mikasa cried out suddenly and cursing myself for not hearing the fast-approaching wagon, I tried to reach out and push Aurora away, but it was too late, and before I knew it, I was being manhandled into the wagon and kidnapped.</p><p>"Noo! Arm-" I could hear Sasha cry as her voice grew more and more distant, "I mean, those bastards are running off with them!"</p><p>Rolling around into the wagon, I skirted backwards until I hit the back of the cart, ready to defend myself and saw that, just as planned, I wasn't the only taken in the smash and grab.</p><p>"Stop your squirming!" A heavyset man with black eyes that were cold and merciless leered at Armin, a twitch in his upper lip as he groped his way along Armin's leg when suddenly a foot cracked against his face and blood exploded from his nose.</p><p>
  <em>Oh Shit! </em>
</p><p>Rearing back to get another kick in despite the two other men, who held a strong resemblance to each other, attempting to hold her down, Aurora booted the groper again except this time he was ready. Swerving out the way of her attack, the heavyset man grabbed hold of Aurora's leg and dragged her towards him before reaching behind his back. </p><p>
  <em>Shit Shit Shit!</em>
</p><p>"Bitch!" the man snarled, and when his hand returned from behind his back, a knife was gripped in it, a knife which he now held to Aurora's throat, stopping my heart.</p><p>
  <em>No No No No No!</em>
</p><p>"We need confirmation first!" One of the men, the elder who had been holding Aurora down, stressed as he reached over the glaring redheaded and pushed the heavyset man away from her, his face deadly serious. </p><p><em>Please make him stop..</em>.</p><p>My breath caught in my throat as I watched the heavyset man, my eyes wide with terror as he glared at Aurora with his teeth bared, her defiance only fuelling his rage as she met his stare evenly, either unafraid or too angry to show it when suddenly he released his hold on her and stomped to the front of the wagon, allowing me to breath once again. </p><p>
  <em>He would have killed her... </em>
</p><p>Releasing a deep breath that he too must have been holding, the older-looking man who had just saved Aurora's life looked down at her ashamed before reaching over in the wagon for some rope and gestured for her to hold her hands behind her back. Pausing for a moment, Aurora burned daggers into the elder's eyes, her mismatched eyes letting him know exactly what she thought of him, before turning around and putting her hands behind her back, allowing for her hands to be bound before she shuffled back and nodded to me, letting me know she expected me to do the exact same.</p><p>
  <em>If she wanted us to give in, then why in walls sake did she attack that man?! </em>
</p><p>Groaning internally, I turned to give the elder my hands to tie and met Armin's eyes across the way who was sat with his legs tightly crossed, waiting for his turn when suddenly it hit me.</p><p>
  <em>That man was groping up his leg, had Aurora not stopped him then our whole cover would have been blown the moment his wandering hands got to far up... <b>shit. </b>She risked herself so that Armin wouldn't be discovered... so that <b>we </b>wouldn't be discovered...</em>
</p><p>Hanging my head down in shame, I spent the rest of the wagon ride staring at my feet and contemplating the shit show we were all in when suddenly it went very dark and looking up, my heart stuttered painfully as a ominous looking warehouse loomed above us.</p><p>
  <em>If this isn't a place where people get their heads blown off, I don't know where is... </em>
</p><p>Wasting no time, our ragtag band of kidnappers dragged us from the wagon and bundled us into the warehouse where more men, most of whose faces betrayed guilt the moment they saw Aurora, no doubt recognising the Battle Angel of Trost,  were waiting for us and tied us in chairs all facing each other in a semi-circle before slinking to different corners of the warehouses to wallow in their guilt. </p><p>
  <em>And now we wait… let's hope the plan went smoothly and the others followed us here or were royally screwed! </em>
</p><p>Hours seemed to go by as we sat there, unable to so much as scratch our noses, and slowly but surely I was beginning to lose my grip on my calm when suddenly heavy footsteps made their way towards us, or rather I should say towards Armin. </p><p>
  <em>What now?!</em>
</p><p>Looking up, my stomach dropped as the heavyset man, who had pulled a knife on Aurora, circled Armin like a predator does its prey, licking his lips before he came up behind him and pulled his wig aside, revealing his pale neck, before inhaling deeply, his eyes rolling back ever so slightly.</p><p>
  <em>What the actual fuck?! </em>
</p><p>"Oooh so nice," the heavyset man panted heavily into the side of Armin's terrified face before bringing his hands up to roam across his chest, pushing his hips forward, so his crotch was pressing into Armin's side, "Let me hear how much you like it."</p><p>
  <em>The Fuck is he doing?! This can't be happening! </em>
</p><p>This wasn't good, it wasn't good at all. If this pervert kept on pawing at Armin, who he believed to be 15 year old Historia, then it was only a matter of time before he figured out that Armin was in fact a boy and that was our whole cover blown, that and the fear on Armin's face was affecting me in a way that facing no Titan ever had. </p><p>
  <em>Sick Bastard!</em>
</p><p>"So, you like little girls, is that it? Or is it because you can't get a real woman to fuck you?" Aurora taunted in an attempt to draw attention away from Armin, obviously seeing the same danger as I had and it worked because the pervert turned his bottomless black eyes towards her and a lazy grin spread across his face that set me even more on edge.</p><p>
  <em>Don't you fucking dare! Leave her alone! </em>
</p><p>"You look like a real woman to me" the pervert sneered as he sauntered around the back of Aurora before grabbing a fistful of her hair and forcing her head back at a painful angle so he could run his free hand down her throat to her chest, "How's that? Feels good, doesn't it? I bet those freckles go all the way down..."</p><p>"Get your goddamn hands off her!" I snarled, my temper soaring at seeing Aurora treated like a piece of meat but my protests only seemed to spur the bastard on as his fat hand pawed its way down Aurora's chest before squeezing her breast, nails digging into her black shirt and the look on Aurora's face turned murderous.</p><p>
  <em>Oh no... </em>
</p><p>"Why don't you untie me and I can return the favour?" Aurora asked sweetly, too sweetly considering the dark look in her eyes that had fear slithering into my heart because I had seen a similar look on her face before, and it meant only one thing. </p><p>
  <em>Don't do it Aurora, please don't do it... You can't fight your way out of this...please ... </em>
</p><p>"Nice try, but I have a better idea," the pervert leered as he pulled Aurora's head back again by her hair and I instantly felt sick to my stomach at how vulnerable she looked with her pale neck exposed as it was, "Why don't I put that mouth of yours to good use while you're at the perfect height?"</p><p>
  <em>Monster! Fucking monster! </em>
</p><p>"Anything you put in my mouth I'm going to bite down on, <em>hard</em> and good luck getting my jaw open after that." Aurora grinned her teeth on full display, eyes glinting with an edge that made her look positively feral and I knew then that the moment she was free, this man was going to regret ever laying hands on her. </p><p>
  <em>That's if the Captain doesn't get there first.</em>
</p><p>Stumbling back in what I can only assume was fear, the pervert looked over his shoulder, his face turning bright red as he saw my judgemental gaze before turning back to Aurora and striking her hard across the face, knocking her chair over and sending her crashing to the floor with a huff as the air was driven out of her chest. </p><p>"No!" I cried out as the heavyset man reared his leg back and delivered a swift kick to Aurora's gut, but despite the force he had used she didn't make a sound, instead, she openly laughed at him, and when he reached down and dragged her chair back upright, the heavyset man grasped Aurora's face and forced her to look at him, his body shaking with rage.</p><p>"Why don't we try this again sweetheart?" the pervert snarled, spit hitting Aurora's face as he brought his free hand up to run his fingers across her breast and grinning again like a crazed woman, bloody teeth on full display, Aurora headbutted the pervert square on the nose before spitting a mouth full of blood across his face, enraging him into striking her again and again as a manic laugh fell from her lips that had me seriously concerned for her state of mind.</p><p>
  <em>This is why I didn't want to go through this shit a second time, I didn't want to see this fucked up shit! Screw being Eren's body double! </em>
</p><p>Finally the sick bastard stepped back to look at his handy work and rolling her head back to look up at him, Aurora gave him another bloody smile that sent chills down my spine because there was something different behind this smile, something dark and dangerous I had never seen before, something that promised <em>pain.</em> </p><p>
  <em>Guys if your out there, now is as good as time as any to get your asses in here!</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for the comments, Kudos, subscriptions and bookmarks, I'm so happy you're all still enjoying and reading my story.<br/>Things got a bit dark in this chapter and this theme will follow on into the next chapter and pretty much from the onset and through out, so this is a warning for scenes involving sexual assault, graphic violence, death, torture and some mental health issues as you can all well imagine.</p><p>Edit 29.06.2020 the next chapter is coming soon but first I have a big essay due and as much as I want to get the next chapter to you guys, I also want to not fail more... so yeah I’ll be with guys soon as I promise!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Lady of Justice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Warning- mentions of Rape and graphic depictions of violence.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">MIKASA</span>
</p><p>My knuckles screamed in protest as my grip around my ODM gear threatened to break the leather handles because despite what was at stake, I was struggling to stomach the display below in the dark abandoned warehouse.</p><p>
  <em>Deep breaths...</em>
</p><p>The mission was going precisely as planned, the bait had been taken. All we had to do was wait a little while longer, but that was the problem, because as we waited for our plane to unfold, Aurora was below, being degraded for the amusement of her capture like she was nothing more than a play doll and from my hidden vantage point in the upper window, I got a perfect view.</p><p>
  <em>Hold on Aurora... Just a little longer...</em>
</p><p>Bile rose in my mouth as the heavy-set man began to run his hand fat hands across her chest and unable to watch any longer, I climbed back up onto the roof and froze when I met Captain Levi's expectant gaze, as he crouched down on the roof tiles with Sasha and Connie.</p><p>
  <em>Oh shit... </em>
</p><p>"How's everything going inside?" the Captain drawled, and even though his voice was lifeless and seemingly uninterested, his sharp eyes missed nothing.</p><p>"If we wait very much longer then I think we're going to have a problem with Aurora..." I answered slowly, unsure of how to put this without endangering the entire mission, "she's being... she's being pawed at..."</p><p>"I see." Captain Levi gritted through his teeth, and though I couldn't see his face as he turned away from me, I could see the anger rolling through him as his spine straightened and his fists clenched so tightly that the knuckles were popping white.</p><p>
  <em>Dont do it....</em>
</p><p>"How's your leg." I blurted out hastily, hoping to break through the rage I could see threatening to boil over and screw the entire plan, "Any better?"</p><p>Finally meeting my eyes, the Captain must have seen my silent pleading for suddenly, he let out a deep breath before shaking himself, releasing his fists and running his now open palm down his injured leg. </p><p>"I can move well enough." Captain Levi muttered before turning his attention to the kidnappers below, his eyebrows drawn together as he struggled to accept what had to be done for us to succeed, "Did you notice? These kidnappers are obviously rank amateurs. Why wouldn't they use professionals for a job like this..." the Captain trailed off as he puzzled it out in his head, and maybe I would too but right now we had a job to do.</p><p>"You can handle the rest on your own." Captain Levi addressed me as he pushed to his feet with a barely noticeable wince on his face, "I'm going to make my way to Eren, come find me when you've finished taking out the <em>trash </em>here."</p><p>
  <em>With pleasure.</em>
</p><p>"Yes, sir." I nodded eagerly; it was time that bastard below learned to keep his hands to himself.</p><p>"There is one more thing you should know," the Captain paused when he reached the end of the roof and looking back at me, he said the last thing I was expecting to hear, "Just in case, tell Aurora and the others too. It isn't just Titan anymore that we are fighting, its human too. You are to use the same discretion as you would out in the field. I expect you to understand what that means."</p><p>
  <em>We have to fight... have to kill … people... just like we do with the Titans...</em>
</p><p>Without waiting for my reply, the Captain engaged his ODM gear and disappeared over the rooftops and releasing a deep breath, I signalled for the others to follow my lead as I slowly crept back to the window before quietly slipping in to the building. Climbing down behind the large wooden crates just off to the side where Aurora was still being harassed by the big ugly man though this time, unlike before where he had simply been pawing at her, blood now ran from a split on her lip and his knuckles were stained with her blood.</p><p>
  <em>Big fucking mistake.</em>
</p><p>Silently drawing my blades, I gripped the handles tight, ready to bloody my knuckles with his blood when suddenly a very agitated voice from the front of the warehouse rang out making Aurora's abuser stop dead in his tracks.</p><p>"Dale!" The voice snarled and daring to peer out from my hiding place, I saw a middle-aged man with grey hair and furious eyes storming towards Dale and his wandering hands, "Leave the girl be and go wait out front for the boss! Now!"</p><p>Turning to glare at the grey man, it appeared Dale wasn't ready to give up his fun when, suddenly, the grey man pulled his beaten coat open to reveal a small pistol strapped to his side, which he then rested his hand on, and I couldn't help the smile that tugged at my face when Dale visibly gulped at the very deliberate threat. </p><p>
  <em>Go on, shoot him and save me the job.</em>
</p><p>"I'll be back, sweetheart, don't you worry about that." Dale promised, his hand tugging on a lock of Aurora's hair before he stepped back with a sinister smile on his face, "Once we sort all this out, we're going to spend some quality time together."</p><p>Sparing the grey man one more scathing look, Dale made a kissing gesture towards Aurora before stomping off towards the front of the warehouse as Aurora spat another mouthful of blood towards him. </p><p>"Promises promises", Aurora called after him with bloody teeth as he slammed the front door shut and seeing my opening as the herd thinned, I crept closer, ready to take out the grey man who was now looking down at Aurora's bloody chin with what looked oddly like pity.</p><p>
  <em>Maybe this one isn't as bad as the others...</em>
</p><p>"You shouldn't taunt him, he's bad to the core that one and he means what he says." The grey man sighed as he reached forward to wipe some of the blood off Aurora's chin with his coat sleeve, "You won't be the first he has taken by force."</p><p>"And yet he walks free." Aurora snarled as she jerked her head away from his touch, making the grey man recoil as if she had burned, "Run that one by me."</p><p>Casting his eyes down in shame, the grey man took a step back, refusing to look at Aurora as he fidgeted with the ends of his coat and I felt my lack of contempt for this man suddenly make a turn around.</p><p>
  <em>There are two types of evil in this world, those that do evil and those that see evil being done and don't do a damn thing about it... this man is one of the latter.</em>
</p><p>"Oh, I see, his word against hers, right? and yet you know the truth... is that why you stopped him? To appease your guilt?" Aurora sneered as her eyes narrowed at the grey man, but my eyes were drawn to the fact, that somehow, her hands were no longer bound behind her back, "Story of the Mankind. The strong taking what they want from the weak, and the <em>spineless </em>do nothing but watch."</p><p>"Look here, little lady-" the grey man spluttered as Aurora suddenly surged upward and punched him in the throat. Collapsing to the floor, clutching his throat, the grey man turned red as he struggled to breath when Aurora delivered a swift kick to his head, knocking him unconscious before she rushed over to Armin and began untying his hands.</p><p>
  <em>She must have used Dale's distracted hands to work at her bindings... she let him do that to her to break free... for the mission...</em>
</p><p>"Take him, Mikasa, the others will be back soon", Aurora said softly, apparently aware of me this entire time, as she gestured to the grey man with her chin before running to Jean to untie him. Stepping forward from the shadows, I grabbed the grey man by his feet and dragged him to a dark corner of the warehouse before jogging back to my vantage point where Aurora, Armin and Jean sat again as if nothing had happened at all when suddenly the front doors burst open.</p><p>
  <em>This is it.</em>
</p><p>"You're sure these are the three we are looking for?" A new voice floated closer as multiple footsteps slowly made their way closer towards us, and steeling myself for action, I caught sight of Connie and Sasha who had taken vantage points high up on the rafters, ready and waiting.</p><p>
  <em>We've got this.</em>
</p><p>"Yeah, they match the descriptions to a T." Dale purred as he came into view again and moved to stand in front of Aurora, his fat fingers trailing down the side of her unamused face, "Especially this little-"</p><p>"Where is the other guard?" The new voice snapped and taking this as our only opportunity, I sprang into action and knocked the nearest man off his feet before spinning around, ready for my next target.</p><p>"What the hell!?" Dale shouted, but he was soon taken off guard by Aurora surging forward and kneeing him with all she had in the groin, however, before she could really begin to lay into him as was her god-given right, Jean barrelled forward and tackled him to the ground where he swiftly boxed him twice in the jaw, stunning the larger man momentarily into stillness.</p><p>
  <em>Huh...</em>
</p><p>Connie promptly dropped down from the beams above and apprehended the last man, a snivelling one at that, wrapping up our ambush when suddenly an arrow shot sailed dangerously close to my face before embedding itself behind me, trapping the firearm the man I had taken down had pulled on me when my back was stupidly turned because I was too focused on Jean.</p><p>
  <em>Idiot! That was too close! </em>
</p><p>"Move again, and you won't like where the next shot hits!" Sasha warned from her perch and turning my head up towards her, I gave her my thanks as Connie came up beside me with the snivelling man in tow.</p><p>"No one else is in the area. This is everyone." Connie informed us and grabbing the rope that had been used on Armin, Jean and Aurora, we all set about tying up our hostages, well, everyone except for Aurora.</p><p>"Jean, scoot aside would you." Aurora said softly to Jean, her hands coming to gently tug at his shoulders as he sat pinning Dale to the ground, his chest heaving as he stared down at the bastard, "I'm going to have a little talk with this one."</p><p>Snapping his head around to stare at her in disbelief, Jean's brows furrowed in confusion before it suddenly dawned on him what it was she was asking for.</p><p>
  <em>Justice.</em>
</p><p>"Aurora-"</p><p>"I'm not gonna kill him." Aurora promised but the crazed look that appeared in her eyes when Dale began to stir said an entirely different story, "I'm just gonna do my gender a favour."</p><p>"I Don't-"</p><p>"Jean", I warned darkly and when his eyes meet my hard and uncompromising stance, he gritted his teeth and stood back, allowing Aurora to take his place upon Dale's chest before she reached down into her Military boot to pull out a small hidden blade.</p><p>
  <em>Justice must be served.</em>
</p><p>"Tell me handsome," Aurora practically purred as she gently ran the blade across Dale's lips, making his face drain of colour, "How many women have you taken by force? And I'll know if your lying. In fact, for every lie you tell, I'm going to cut something off that you need. So, save yourself some pain and just tell me... How. Many?"</p><p>"O..one..... I swear!" Dale wailed like a new-born, a far cry from the big brave man he had been mere moments ago, "Only one.... please... don't hurt me..."</p><p>
  <em>Wrong answer.</em>
</p><p>"That's one too many, I'm afraid." Aurora condemned in a cold, detached manner before lurching forward and pinning Dale's head to the ground. Bringing her knife up to his forehead, Aurora managed to keep the much larger man still despite his thrashing and began to push the shinning steel into his clammy, pale flesh, much to our comrades' horror, making his voice pitch in agony before he began to violently scream.</p><p>Legs kicking furiously, Dale desperately tried to push Aurora off him, and I couldn't help but wonder if this was what his victim had done when he attacked her when he ripped away all the light and good in this world for her, when she wasn't strong enough to stop him, just like he wasn't strong enough to stop this. </p><p>"Oh, stop your whining." Aurora chastised as she wiped the blood from Dale's forehead, revealing the letters carved into his flesh before she turned to look at us with a frown on her face, "How do you spell rapist again? I've got R. A. P..."</p><p>"I.S.T", I answered and ignored the looks of horror the others sent my way because this wasn't an act of evil or insanity, this was justice in its purest form, and Aurora its executioner.</p><p>"Splendid." Aurora smiled, her bloody teeth on show, adding to the feral display as her eyes burned with<em> hate</em> at the man pinned beneath her, and wasting no more time, she went back to her artwork and pushed the tip of the blade back into Dale's flesh to carve out the final letters while his pants suddenly turned darker around the crotch.</p><p>"NO! PLEASE!" Dale begged, but it did him no use, Aurora was too strong, and holding him firmly in place she dragged and twisted the blade, tearing his flesh deep enough to scar while I watched with satisfaction as his pained filled screams bounced around the room for all to hear.</p><p>
  <em>She gave my mother and father justice too, all those years ago, her and Eren both...</em>
</p><p>"You finished?" Jean snapped at Aurora when finally she drew back to reach for some rope to bind Dale's hands, his face twisted in disgust at her actions which showed just how little he understood, and how could he? He had never been threatened with rape like Aurora, and I had all those years ago, he had never been manhandled or pawed at because he was seen as an object of gratification, a pretty bird to be put in a cage only to be freed for use and entertainment. That was the life intended for me all those years ago when I was taken from my home, Aurora and Eren had put a stop to that, had saved me from a fate worse than death, had enacted my justice, but that didn't mean it wasn't still happening to others, and this man was proof of that.</p><p>
  <em>He deserves far worse than having his nature carved out for the whole world to see, I call this a mercy.</em>
</p><p>"Aha." Aurora smiled grimly down at Dale who was shaking in a puddle of his own piss, pleased with her handy work before turning to me and wiping her bloody blade against her trouser leg, "So, what's the play?"</p><p>"First we get these four secured, and then we meet up with the Captain," I answered and judging by the sickly looks on the other's faces after what they had just seen, they weren't going to like what I said next one bit.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for the comments, kudos, bookmarks and subscription and an even bigger thank you for staying with me! As promised I have submitted my assignment today and have finally gotten around to the next chapter. Hope it was worth the wait! :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. The Ripper</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Levi is reunited with a figure from his past</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">LEVI</span>
</p><p>It never got old, the feeling of soaring above rooftops with the sun baring down upon you. Having been trapped in the underground for so long, any opportunity to fly under the sun was a welcome and a feeling I usually enjoyed but today the rush I would normally feel as I twisted and weaved over smoking chimneys and unsuspecting passers-by was marred by the bitter taste in my mouth at having left Aurora at the hands of those men.</p><p>
  <em>I chose the mission over her...</em>
</p><p>A small part of me was thankful I hadn't seen her abuse with my own two eyes, for if I had the plan would have gone to shit. I would have damned us all just to break their fucking necks, however, at the same time because I hadn't seen what was being done to her, my mind was conjuring up all the vile things I could remember similar men inflicting upon my mother, the thought of which made me sick to my stomach. What kind of man leaves his woman to suffer as I had done, all for the sake of a mission, regardless of whether or not she was more than capable of handling herself? A worthless one.</p><p>
  <em>This had all better be worth it because if this all turns about to be just another power grab by some greedy bastard trying to make himself more than what he is and I left her there to suffer then I'm going to lose my shit.</em>
</p><p>Swinging around the last house, I spotted a small cloaked figure hunched down upon a rooftop observing the street below and disengaging my gear, I landed by the chimney to their right. </p><p>"Captain." Nifa greeted as she turned her face towards me just as a ray of sunlight lit up the red in her hair that I had never noticed before, or maybe hadn't bothered to notice. I never really saw women or their faces anymore, not since Aurora, she was the only woman I ever paid attention to now, but looking at the red in Nifa's hair I had the oddest thought of Rian or rather what he had left behind. Aurora had been his sister, she was his past and his memories, but Nifa had been his future. As annoying as the lanky prick had been, he was a good brother, a good man and a good soldier and I have no doubt that Nifa would have happily married him and had a litter of redhaired brats to run around and cause trouble if their father and aunt were anything to go by. However what was most shocking to me was the fact that it was surprisingly not entirely an unpleasant image, one that oddly shifted from Rian and Nifa's brood to Aurora standing on a wooden porch, her hair long again and loose, greeting me with a broad smile on her face as she stood with a sleeping dark-haired infant snuggled into her side as she tried to prop him around her belly that swollen with child, <em>my </em>child.</p><p>
  <em>What am I doing?! Imaging stupid things like that! Me a father?! Who the fuck am I kidding?! This fight will never be over. Not now. Not ever. I <b>know</b> this, so why did the thought of Aurora as a mother make me... happy...?</em>
</p><p>Coughing awkwardly, Nifa brought my attention back and realising I had been staring, I turned my head hastily away and clocked the wagon rolling through the street below as the festivities began to pick up, the wagon that secretly held Eren and Historia.</p><p>"Well?" I asked, hoping to distract myself from my ridiculous thoughts and my still seething anger, the brats should have freed Aurora and the others by now, she would be here soon.</p><p>"The road is crowded, but I see nothing unusual. It's not far to Commander Pyxis from here so I think we're good." Nifa answered while gazing down at the wagon's progress as it came to a halt in the street before turning her big doe eyes to me with a slightly more anxious expression, "How goes the body double mission?"</p><p>
  <em>She's worried about Aurora...</em>
</p><p>"A success", I muttered as I focused in on the wagon, refusing to let my mind jump back to those dark places it had been before I had arrived here, and noticed the distinct lack of MPs that should have been patrolling what would soon be the heart of the celebrations with a foreboding feeling.</p><p>
  <em>Something isn't right...</em>
</p><p>"You don't seem very pleased about that." Nifa pressed, her voice lifting slightly towards the end showing how truly worried she was and she had a good right to be because as I scanned every inch of the scene below, I couldn't find a single uniform. Add that to the already shifty use of amateurs in kidnapping who they thought were Historia and Eren, then something really wasn't right.</p><p>"I'm not." I gritted as the answer suddenly became crystal clear. This wasn't the military police, they are far too careful of their reputation to use amateurs who happily attack defenceless women to kidnap three people, two of whom are well known to the public, not when they could botch it and they would be implicated. No, this is more like they knew the wagon would be followed; that a support team wouldn't be far behind to protect it. That<em> I </em>would be the one planning this whole song and dance because I had experience with double switches back from my days in the underground, that a distraction would be my go-to plan.</p><p>
  <em>This couldn't be <b>him</b>... could it...?</em>
</p><p>"The wagon is moving again", Nifa announced as she pushed herself up above the tiles to get a better look, but my mind was too preoccupied with the smiling man with the white-rimmed bowler hat from my memories, the man who had put a knife in my hand and showed me how to use it.</p><p>
  <em>Then fucked off and left me to fend for myself when I could barely tell my left from right.</em>
</p><p>"Nifa," I murmured, still unable or perhaps unwilling to factor <em>him</em> into all of this, "You heard of Kenny the ripper?""</p><p>"That mass murderer in the capital? The one who slit the throats of over 100 MPs?" Nifa puzzled as she turned to look at me with confused eyes, "Of course, but I always thought he was just an urban legend."</p><p>
  <em>Some fucking legend.</em>
</p><p>"The stories are all true, he's no legend." I spat, lips curling slightly in a snarl as the gnawing feeling that <em>he </em>was behind this grew and grew, "I lived with him, back when I was a kid."</p><p><em>Back when I had to take from others just to scratch out an exsistance.</em>..</p><p>"Yeah, very funny sir. This isn't really the time to be making jokes." Nifa scoffed, not believing me for a second though why she thought I would be joking at a time like this was beyond me for this was no laughing matter. Kenny the Ripper was a sick bastard, and he wouldn't care about using amateurs, he wouldn't care if they got killed in the crossfires or what they did to their captures. He would know how I thought because he made taught me everything I know, he all but made me what I am. So if this is really <em>him</em>, then I would assume he would have his team trail the wagon from both rear angles then choose a spot high up, somewhere with a clean line of sight-</p><p>
  <em>NO!</em>
</p><p>"NIFA!" I cried out in warning as I heard the click of metal behind us, but I was too late, the shot fired and Nifa's blood painted the roof tiles red as her body slumped at an unnatural angle, her face blown off.</p><p>
  <em>SHIT!</em>
</p><p>Swinging around, so the Chimney gave me cover, I tore my ODM gear free ready to attack when another shot rang out followed quickly by a woman screaming below. Gritting my teeth together I watched Nifa's blood trickle down the tiles into the gutter as more screams added to the array below when a voice I had long since forgotten taunted from behind.</p><p>"Long-time Levi! Still, runt or have you grown some?" the Ripper jeered before the tell-tale hiss of ODM gear and the reloading of a weapon sounded only to be followed by the sky suddenly filling with multiple attackers all rigged with ODM gear.</p><p>
  <em>SHIT SHIT SHIT!</em>
</p><p>Suddenly a shadow descended upon me, blocking out the sun, and looking up into the aged but haunting smile of Kenny the Ripper, my blood <em>burned</em>.</p><p>"Nope!" The Ripper smiled as he aimed what appeared to cylinders of gas at my head, and my rage finally boiled over, "Don't look like you've changed much at all boy!"</p><p>Ripping my blades from their sheaths to avenge the last part of Rian Sparhawke's future that <em>he </em>had blown away like she was nothing, my body shook with unbridled hatred as his name tore from my snarling lips.</p><p>"KEEENNNNNYYYY!"  </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for the comments, Kudos, subscriptions and bookmarks. I'm honestly blown away by the feedback and support from all of you. As always I love hearing from you guys, constructrive critisism is always welcome or even just to tell me what parts your liking, or even what you guys predict is coming :D:D:D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Not an update- tumblr set up for the Sparhawke Chronicles</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hey guys! I’ve set up a tumblr where I’m going to start posting head-canons, art work and even answer and write some prompts from anyone who wants to know anything about Aurora or the characters in my universe. I know this isn’t the best since your all wanting updates but studies take up a lot of my time, however   I will be able to post a few tumblr blogs now and then between updates. Here’s the link below, feel free to check it out and start sending your questions! I hope to hear from anyone!!</p><p>https://rowenawarden.tumblr.com/post/190380573624/commission-artwork-by-midoryka-art-the-author-of</p><p>Also check out https://rowenawarden.tumblr.com/post/624875336270790656/how-amazing-is-this-look-at-those-eyes-the, a recent and stunning art work of Aurora for the Warriors of the Walls by the Amazing youeggbastard</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. No Mercy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Graphic descriptions of Violence and death.<br/>Also enjoy some fanart of Aurora, Levi and Rian that I made with artbreeder :D (I tried to make scars on artbreeder but it didnt work, so Aurora currently looks like this but obvs has her trademark facial scars)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
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  <span class="u">LEVI</span>
</p><p>Adrenaline spiked making my blood sing as the man that had dragged me up kicking and screaming, raised the still smoking cylinder attached to his arm and levelled it with my chest. Not wishing to follow Nifa's and her squad into the afterlife, I acted in haste and threw my cloak out to block his line of sight before diving to the side and launching my detached blade to throw the air straight at his shit-eating grin.</p><p>
  <em>Die you old fuck!</em>
</p><p>Of course, luck wasn't on my side and the lanky bastard managed to deflect my attack but not before I had engaged my ODM gear and rocketed through two of his men, slashing their lives away from them before diving down for the cover of the streets below, twisting and turning at every impossible angle to cut them off at their obvious play for Eren and Historia.</p><p>
  <em>SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! He predicted our every damn movement! <b>Fuck him</b>! Fuck him to hell and back! Of all people why the hell would <b>he</b> work with the MPs-</em>
</p><p>Shadows descended upon me as I sailed down a narrow alleyway and glancing above on instinct, I barely had time to dive underneath an upturned wagon lying in the alley when two loud shots rang out and a sharp stinging burned in my hairline as wooden splintered off into my skin.</p><p>
  <em>FUCK! If this keeps up, I will lose my team and Eren and Historia... I will lose Aurora.</em>
</p><p>Grappling around another sharp corner, everything came to an almost standstill as assailants appeared at escape route. No matter where I went, I was truly fucked, but just as I began to make my peace with that, gripping my blades tighter, ready to fight to the death to buy Aurora and the others time, I saw the bar come into sight and launched myself inside in last ditch desperation, stunning the oblivious customers to the chaos outside into silence.</p><p>"It's Levi of the scouts" A patron muttered awestruck as I dived over the bar looking for the one thing I desperately needed.</p><p>
  <em>Where is the fucking gun?!</em>
</p><p>"Make yourself at home, sir." The barkeep stammered as he pulled the rifle out from under the counter that I was searching for just as that obnoxious drawl I hated almost as much as I hated the Titans sounded just outside the still swinging doors at the bar's entrance.</p><p>
  <em>He's here. </em>
</p><p>"Ready or not!" Kenny sneered as I ducked down behind the bar, quickly loading the rifle before he burst into the bar full of life itself, "It's the damndest thing, I seem to be smelling a rat in this fine establishment. Come on out little rodent, the sheriff is here, and I aim to exterminate all the vermin I can find! Bang Bang!"</p><p>Silence answered his little parade and quietly pulling the clock back on the rifle, I waited for my opening to avenge the last of Rian Sparhawkes future.</p><p>
  <em>I'm sorry Nifa...</em>
</p><p>"Oh come on! You here or not?!" Kenny exasperated and seeing an opportunity to gain some information as I waited for my literal shot, I took a deep breath before speaking to the man that had taught me everything I know before abandoning me to the wolves. </p><p>"Right here, Kenny." I drawled, his name leaving a bitter taste in my mouth, "Been a while. I really thought you'd be dead by now, what with all the MPs you were butchering but now your great friends huh?"</p><p>"Yeah well adults do plenty of things kids like you can't understand- oh right my mistake, you're supposed to be an adult now, but you're still such a runt it's hard to tell." Kenny grinned at his unoriginal insult, and yet the old snide that he gave me as a child unexpectantly stung, "Always hoped that I might get to see you in action someday, I can't say I'm disappointed either. Seems you seem to remember every trick I taught you, but did I ever teach you what happens to a cornered rat?"</p><p>
  <em>Oh yeah, I remember that lesson all too well...</em>
</p><p>"Cause if I had, you would know that wherever you run you'll find a bullet waiting." Kenny continued on in what was turning into an epic monologue even by his standards and slyly reaching forward, I twisting one of the glass bottles around so that I could see his gangly reflection in the shiny surface while he prattled on and on about fuck knows what.</p><p>
  <em>There you are, you old fuck.</em>
</p><p>"Hey Levi," Kenny hummed,  "You must have become a scout for a reason, and I think I know what that is."</p><p>
  <em>Oh this I have to hear.</em>
</p><p>"We were forced to survive in that little hellhole giving everything we had just to stay alive. So, when we found out just how big the world really was, you can bet it hurt like hell.... but you know what saved us?" Kenny inquired, his words striking a nerve as the memory of Isabel and Farlan seeing the sun for the first time pushed against my mind, the idea of the world us above stinging their eyes, "We found something we enjoyed doing, it's just that simple. Every man needs himself a hobby, maybe the only source of fulfilment he will ever find in this wretched world, that and his place between a woman's legs but you'd know about that particular pleasure, right?"</p><p>
  <em>He knows...</em>
</p><p>"Oh, I see," I gritted out as I ignored his jab about Aurora, focusing on any weak spots I could see through his green bottled reflection, "Is that why you blew off my people's heads then because it's fulfilling?"</p><p>"Yep! To achieve my grand goal I will kill as many as gets in my way, ask your cock warmer what happened to her folks if you want some cold hard proof of that little fact," Kenny boasted, and my eyes narrowed in on the reflection of his face at the mention of Aurora's parents when he suddenly grabbed the nearest chair to him and threw it into the cabinet in front of me, breaking my makeshift mirror, not that I cared because I was too focused on the damning statement he just made.</p><p>
  <em>You didn't...</em>
</p><p>"That was your handy work?" I asked darkly, hoping against hope that the son of a bitch was trying to bait me because if he had offed Aurora's parents, then that would set her and Kenny on an inevitable collision course if I couldn't kill him here and now.</p><p>
  <em>You better be lying you sack of shit.</em>
</p><p>"Oh yeah, comes from fighting stock your bitch, daddy fought real hard but numbers done him in the end, even the mother died with dignity, no screams from her as I cut her throat and bled her dry. Not even for her runts that lay in her belly." Kenny practically purred with satisfaction, confirming that the man that had raised me to be the dark, twisted thing that I am, had killed my lover's father and mother, forcing her into a life of hardship and misery, "Your little Sparhawke should be proud."</p><p>"I'll be sure to pass on the message", I growled as blood rolled down my face from the splinter of wood still stuck in my forehead, blurring my vision slightly. I would have to make my move soon before I lost too much blood.</p><p>"Oh, don't be so high and mighty with me boy, you're not so different yourself. You kill too when it benefits you." Kenny scoffed as he threw his hands up in the air, the movement catching my eye over the bar. </p><p>
  <em>I absolutely do.</em>
</p><p>"Yeah..." I drawled before throwing the barrel of the rifle behind me and fired what I hoped was a killing shot at my past in defence of my future, smiling grimly when I heard his body thump to the ground and the swinging of the bar doors. Jumping up from my cover, I threw the rifle back to the barkeep before grabbing a chair and tossing it through the window, leaving that monster where he belonged. </p><p>
  <em>Die in the dirt, Kenny. You won't be missed. </em>
</p><p>Two shots fired at my decoy and seizing the moment, I engaged my ODM gear while pulling free fresh blade and set about the sorry bastards on the nearest rooftop, ripping their insides out with my blade for carrion before moving on to protect my future. </p>
<hr/><p>
  <span class="u">AURORA</span>
</p><p>"I heard gunshots!" Sasha exclaimed as I pulled a huffing Jean up onto the rooftop and snapping my head around to face her, I saw the girl pointing frantically in the direction of the north gate with wide, fearful eyes as the echoes of arms firing made their way to my ears.</p><p>
  <em>We are out of time...</em>
</p><p>"I heard close to a dozen shots!" Sasha fretted and knowing our time was up, I threw myself from the building, engaging my ODM gear to swing myself as high as I could to cover more ground in a desperate attempt to get to Eren and Historia before it was too late.</p><p>
  <em>How did they find them so fast?! I thought we would have had more time...</em>
</p><p>"Aurora wait!" I heard Jean call out from behind me, but I didn't wait for him to catch up because as I rounded that last corner onto the path the wagon was supposed to be taken, I saw multiple bodies on the rooftops and streets, clad in scout green, lying motionless with their brains blown out behind them.</p><p>
  <em>No...Nifa...</em>
</p><p>More shots sounded, though this time they were close and pushing past the bodies in shame, leaving them to rot, I flipped and twisted down into the wide cobbled street leading to the north gate to see Levi in pursuit of our wagon with three attackers hot on his heels.</p><p>
  <em>Not him!</em>
</p><p>Using my gas to propel myself high, I quickly gained on a man at the back of the pack before descending upon the unsuspecting bastard, channelling all the force I had down into my feet which I planted into his back, knocking him out of the air and onto the cobbles below where I used his body to surf as I kept my foot planted against the back of his head, forcing his face to spread across the stone in a bloody display. Satisfied that he wasn't coming back from that, I engaging my ODM gear again, drawing my blades as Levi ripped his through the gut of his nearest target sending entrails raining down like a god of war. </p><p>
  <em>I knew what you were the moment I met you, I could smell the blood from a mile away...</em>
</p><p>Coming out of nowhere, with her hand held out for me to grasp, Mikasa pulled me along with her so I could gain momentum before swinging me forward and allowing me to twist beside a dark-haired woman whose eyes widened in fear seconds before my blade slashed across her face, causing her blood to splash hotly against my face as excitement sharpened my senses. </p><p>
  <em>On to the next target.</em>
</p><p>"Follow the wagon!" Levi called out to me as the woman dropped to the street below and nodding once in assent, I grappled away to shadow the wagon that held two targets and an unconscious Eren and Historia while Levi bellowed out orders to the others, "Listen up! These soldiers were trained to fight other people! They have already taken out three of ours! If you hesitate for so much as a second, you will be dead! The moment you see an opening, go for the kill!"</p><p>
  <em>No mercy.</em>
</p><p>"Yes, sir." A holler rang out behind me before multiple grapples embedded themselves in the walls I was quickly passing and moving to pave the way for my unit's assault, I threw out one of my grapples as I had done with Rian during the battle between Reiner and Eren, except this time, instead of tethering to another grapple in solace, I tethered through the chest of the man at the back of the wagon, killing him instantly before reeling my grapple back, dragging his body from the cart and leaving a lone woman driving the vehicle.</p><p>
  <em>One down, one to go.</em>
</p><p>"Armin! Secure the wagon with Jean," Levi called out as he swung around me, "We will keep you two covered!"</p><p>"Sir!" Armin called out and twisting around to see their angle of approach so as not to get caught in their crosshairs, I saw Jean staring down at me absolute horror and my brows furrowed in confusion.</p><p>
  <em>Why is he looking at me like that...?</em>
</p><p>"She killed him." Jean sputtered as his face began to visible pale and looking away lest I start to feel the guilt that I realised I should be but wasn't feeling, I swung back and begin to close in on the wagon to flank their right while Levi mirrored me on the left.</p><p>
  <em>They don't deserve my guilt or Jean's pity.</em>
</p><p>"Cmon!" Armin called out, and just as he swung down to take the wagon, Mikasa shot forward like a bat out of hell and kicked the driver of the wagon in the face, knocking her out of the driver's seat, allowing Armin to take her place and steer the wagon while Jean landed in the back and drew his shaking blade at the rapidly recovering woman.</p><p>
  <em>Jean! What are you doing?! End her!</em>
</p><p>"Don't move!" Jean warned but even I could see there was no steel behind it, he wasn't prepared to follow through with his threat, and she would kill him for it.</p><p>"JEAN!" I called out in warning as the woman pushed herself to her feet and began to raise her strange weapon towards Jean's head just as predicted, making the boy freeze in fright.</p><p>
  <em>No! Not him too!</em>
</p><p>"Stop!" Jean pleaded as she brought her arm up with the cylinder to line at his head and acting without thought I allowed myself to drop down to try and take her out before she blew his head off, but I knew I wouldn't make it on time.</p><p>"JEAN NO!" I cried out in vain when suddenly a single shot ran out and dropping into the wagon I raised my blade to slash an avenging strike across the bitches' throat when she dropped like a sack of shit, her eyes wide and unseeing.</p><p>
  <em>She's.... dead... but ...how...</em>
</p><p>Looking behind me, I meet Jean's tearful eyes as he stood there shellshocked but alive and swallowing thickly, I turned back to the front of the wagon to see Armin kneeling on the driver's seat, his teeth bared and eyes wild as he held the still-smoking pistol in his surprisingly steady hands. I knew then as I looked at the lack of recognition in his bright blue eyes as he stared at me that he would never be the same again.</p><p>
  <em>Armin...</em>
</p><p>"Armin." I said softly as I reached toward him slowly, awareness flooding his eyes as he focused in on my face and finally saw <em>me</em>, "Give me the-"</p><p>"Shit!" Levi cried out from above us and forgetting Armin, I twisted around to see what had caused such an uncharacteristic outburst when my eyes widened as the odds suddenly turned against us with a dozen assailants sailing above, lining their shots straight at us, "Get out of there!"</p><p>Spinning on my heel, I threw out my grapple while seizing the front of Jean's shirt at the same time that Levi swung forward and dragged Armin into the air, abandoning the wagon as the shots were unleashed before crashing to the street and rolling to a hard stop when my limbs tangled with Jean's painfully. </p><p>
  <em>Ow.</em>
</p><p>Pushing the lanky teenager's legs off me, I rolled onto my knees as the anguished cries I knew all too well began to echo down the street in defeat at the sight of the wagon rolling away through the north gate with my last remaining brother.</p><p>
  <em>Eren...</em>
</p><p>"NOO!" Mikasa screamed as she tried to give chase, only to be stopped by Levi, who wrapped his arms around her chest, forcing her back as I sat there in rising horror and unfiltered wrath that once again I was losing another that I loved. </p><p>
  <em>They have Eren... they have my brother...</em>
</p><p>"Let him go!" Levi grunted in an effort against Mikasa's struggles, "We're running on fumes!"</p><p>Tears stung my eyes as I watched that wagon disappear through the gates of Trost before looking down at my shaking blood-stained fists, teeth clenching together as the Mikasa's single wail tore at my eardrums, letting me feel the pain that was as every inch real as what was tearing at my chest.</p><p>
  <em>"EEERRREEEENNNN!" </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for staying with me during this long delay but if its any constellation, I passed my first exam!<br/>I also had my first negative feedback on this story on another forum and I've tried to look for ways to improve my story especially concerning Aurora's character, hopefully you like the tweaks that will be made in a few chapters, though they wont be drastic since were so far into the storyline now.<br/>As always a massive thank you to all those who have commented, left kudos, subscribed or bookmarked, you have gotten me through this exam period as motivation to get the work done so I could get the next chapter out and again as always, I love hearing from you and your feedback is taken into consideration as long as it is said in kindness and isn't intending to upset, so please any constructive critism don't be afraid to comment, I do want this story to be the best it can be for you all.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. The Burdens the Few Must Bear.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Scouts begin to regroup after another defeat.</p>
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    <p>
  <span class="u">AURORA</span>
</p><p>The repugnant smell of canal water and vomit attacked my nose as Armin threw up the entirety of his stomach contents causing my brow to furrow in concern as I soothed his back with Mikasa standing watch, her face appearing impassive but her eyes telling a different tale.</p><p>
  <em>Armin will never be the same again.</em>
</p><p>My whole life I had been taught that violence was the answer, that death was a necessary evil if it meant my survival. It was a lesson ingrained so deeply that even though I felt the horror of my actions when I had taken another's life, I could bear the burden of it and function more or less like a human. It was a lesson Mikasa had too learned at a young age when her parents had been killed, she understood that surviving was often clawing your way over the top of others in this corrupt and crushing world, Armin, however, was another story entirely.</p><p>No stranger to violence, he had endured beating after beating at bullies' hands when he was younger, never once fighting back. Maybe it was because he couldn't, he was after all timid by nature, but that didn't make him weak as many people believed. If Armin had been truly weak, he wouldn't have survived Shiganshina, nor would he have survived losing his Grandfather, or the punishing winter that followed and he certainly wouldn't have made it through Military training or everything thrown at him afterwards. </p><p>Armin Arlert, despite what he believed, is one of the strongest people I know, not because he could physically defend himself but because despite not being able to fight as others could, he always managed to survive with his compassion for humanity intact. A deep-seated, selfless compassion that I feared had been corrupted after the events of today because watching him now as he spewed his guts into the canal water, I knew that the last of his innocence had died along with the woman he had killed. </p><p>
  <em>War is the death of innocence Rian had once said, and he was right, it's the death of everything.</em>
</p><p>"Was it like this for you?" Armin panted suddenly, shocking me at the strangely personally question and peering over his shoulder, his pale face flushed slightly in shame as he took in my slacked jaw expression, "I'm sorry."</p><p>
  <em>Was it like this for me? .... no.... when I had killed for the first time... I had felt... strong...</em>
</p><p>"It's okay." I reassured him as I reached forward and brushed his hair back from his clammy forehead before answering his question honestly, "To your question, yes and no. I remember being afraid of how it easy it was to just... kill... of how strong I felt because of it."</p><p>
  <em>Or how good it felt to finally be the one to win...but best not to mention that now.</em>
</p><p>"I'm sorry." Armin sniffed again before wiping the back of his hand over his mouth and allowing me to guide him away from the canal and into the warehouse where another issue had arisen in our absence.</p><p>
  <em>Great.</em>
</p><p>"Move." Levi ordered a terrified looking Jean who standing between him and the piece of shit that learned the hard way that every action has consequences, said consequences being the word 'Rapist' carved into his forehead for the world to see and evidently my lover who making the sack of shit piss his pants all over again with just the look in his eyes alone, had figured out exactly why I had done that to him.</p><p>
  <em>We don't have time for this...</em>
</p><p>Sighing deeply, I left Armin and Mikasa where they stood and crossed over to Jean before ushering the boy out of the way and taking his place in Levi's path, not because I gave a rats ass about the quivering mess of a man behind me but because I had done what I did to him for a reason, and Levi killing him would mess with my work, that and most importantly we all had work to do.</p><p>
  <em>We need to make a plan to get Eren and Historia back.</em>
</p><p>"It's been dealt with", I ordered with my hand held out towards him, but his usual cold eyes were <em>burning</em> with hatred as blood sluggish dripped from his brow and ignoring me entirely, Levi took a predatory step forward.</p><p>
  <em>Absolutely not.</em>
</p><p>"It's been dealt with!" I snapped as I shoved Levi back and finally catching back into himself, Levi's eyes finally met my own before he blinked slowly, a tired expression suddenly spreading across his face as a stream of blood rolled across his pale eyelid and down onto his sharp cheekbone, the bold colour a stark contrast against his pallor that had my heart clenching.</p><p>
  <em>We can't counter-attack to retrieve Eren and Historia with him in this condition, that and... I need to take care of him... I want to...</em>
</p><p>"Let me see that." I coaxed softly as I reached forward and tugged his arm, leading him away towards Sasha who was already holding a bag of supplies for me, ready, "Rest of you, make sure our position is secure, restock on gear and get something to eat, as soon as we're able, we're moving out to get Eren and Historia back."</p><p>"Yes Ma'am" a chorus of assent rang out in the dusty old warehouse as I sat Levi down on a wooden box, out of the prisoner's line of sight, before digging into the supply bag and pulling out alcohol, a needle and sewing thread. Dousing my hands in alcohol, I lifted the bottle to Levi's lips for him to take a swing before dumping half the bottle's contents onto the deep gash that was resting along his hairline, making his hands snake out and grab onto the fabric on my hips with a deep hiss.</p><p>
  <em>Ow.</em>
</p><p>Allowing Levi to twist his hands into my pants, I threaded the needle before gently pushing his thick black hair back and began to stitch the wound back together with the precision that Grisha had taught me so many years ago after Grandfather had returned from one of his 'hunting trips' sporting a slash across his shoulder blade. The skills that I had thankfully learned that day as I sewed my Grandfather's wound had come to fruition more than once, in fact, I used what I learned to stitch my own hands and face after Shiganshina fell with borrowed equipment and Eren holding a mirror Rian had managed to wrangle from the soldier's garrisoned nearby for the occasion.</p><p>It had been no easy task to stitch my own wounds, tears had rolled fat down my face at the constant stinging but more so at the permanent reminder that was to be forever etched into my flesh for what I had lost. And yet, all the while as I struggled to pull my bloody flesh together with damaged hands, Eren watched, holding the mirror steady, as Mikasa held my hair back from my face with Armin watching, his big blue eyes streaming endlessly at every whimper I was unable to conceal. </p><p>Uncle Arlert had gone with Rian to find us food and blankets while I literally sewed myself back together as best as I could and when I was done, Eren, a nine year old boy, helped me wrap my hands in the rags he had made from my skirt in attempt to keep the wounds clean. He was so young, so broken, he had lost everything and yet there he was, taking care of me and yet, years later, I, with all my strength and power, can't seem to return the favour.</p><p>
  <em>I keep failing him.</em>
</p><p>This had to end, I was done losing people I loved. I had made a vow that no more would I watch my family die after I watched Rian be crushed out of existence. I was getting Eren back, and I was going to kill the people who took him so they could never hurt us again and if I died trying then so be it. </p><p>"I shouldn't have left you", Levi muttered mournfully, and blinking in confusion, I realised I had closed the wound that had torn his flesh asunder and was tying the final knots as his guilt ridden words sunk in.</p><p>"We had a mission;" I reasoned as I cut the thread free from his skin before leaning forward and grasping his face with my bloody hands, "I would have given you hell if you had interfered for something as stupid as protecting my modesty, especially when I'm more than capable of defending myself."</p><p>Levi gave no reply. Instead, he stared back into my eyes as something dark writhed beneath his surface, something that had me instantly on edge. Dropping to my knees before him, I grasped one of his hands in mine while I rubbed my thumb, still pressing into his cheek, across his cheekbone in a soothing gesture, coaxing him silently to tell me what was wrong.</p><p>"It was Kenny," Levi grit out, his words barely above a whisper and my eyes widened at hearing the name he had only ever spoke to me of once before, "He was behind all of this."</p><p>"The man who raised you?" I asked hesitantly, unsure that I was connecting this Kenny to the Kenny that had taught Levi how to cut a man's throat and then abandoned him without so much as a goodbye to the horror of the underground.</p><p>Nodding, Levi cast his eyes away from mine, a look of almost … shame. Why was he ashamed? What had Kenny done to him?</p><p>"There is more, isn't there?" I prodded as I turned his face back to me so that he had no choice but to look at me, and the look he gave me had me extremely worried because I had seen that damn look on him before. It was the same look he had the night before the 57th expedition. When he knew something that I wasn't meant to know.</p><p>"Levi-"</p><p>"He killed Nifa." Levi said hastily, and my mouth slackened as if struck as the image of Nifa's smiling face came to my mind to torment me, "All of Hange's team is gone."</p><p>Anger began to stir again inside the constant furnace that was now my soul. Of course Nifa was dead, she was one of those bodies that I had flown over, that I had left behind like I had left my brother. It was fitting really that I had left the last of Rian, his future, to rot on the rooftops as I left him to rot in the fields beyond wall Rose. What a monster I was turning into. Yes, a monster, and it was created by <em>them all. </em></p><p>
  <em>So be it, if I'm to be a monster, then those bastards will get to see this monster up and close and personal before I rip their throats out.</em>
</p><p>"We will make them pay", I vowed through clenched teeth before rising to my feet, unwilling to linger in the pain, and pulling Levi along with me back towards the others who were all sat in a circle, facing each other in silence, their ration bars forgotten in their hands.</p><p>"What's wrong?" Levi Drawled as he came upon them with me at his flank, "Did all this filth kill your appetite?"</p><p>"Er no..." Armin stammered out, and with the sombre silence broken, he turned his tormented eyes towards Jean who was clearly fighting with his own demons, "Jean, there is something I don't understand."</p><p>"What's that?" Jean blinked confused as he lifted his head, his eyes catching mine before he quickly averted them away, making my stomach dropped because once again, I had seen that look before, it was the look my brother had given me when I had explained to my Grandfather how I had killed two men.</p><p>
  <em>He thinks less of me... just as Rian had.</em>
</p><p>"When I turned around to try and save you, that woman already had her gun to your head." Armin muttered slowly, his voice far away as his eyes glazed over, "It's funny, how could I have shot before she did."</p><p>
  <em>Oh Armin, don't do this to yourself... trust me, it leads you down a path you don't want to walk...</em>
</p><p>"I don't know..." Jean trailed off as his he crushed his fist around his ration bar, he clearly thought he was responsible for Armin having to take a life when it should have been his burden to bear, but that wasn't how the world worked, there were no heroes in shining armour coming to save us, we only had ourselves and each other.</p><p>
  <em>And even then, it is never enough.</em>
</p><p>"You shot first because she hesitated, it's that simple", Levi announced bluntly and casting him a warning look, I turned back to Armin who was once again becoming a nasty shade of white.</p><p>"I'm sorry Armin," Jean lamented, his head hung low as tears dropped from his eyes onto the stone floor of the warehouse, "You wouldn't have had to save me if I had just done my job."</p><p>
  <em>This isnt his or anyone's job... how could it be...</em>
</p><p>In a perfect world, Jean would be home with his mother, chasing after girls without a care in the world; instead, he was here, crying over the fact that another had killed in his place, had killed <em>for</em> him. He couldn't understand the gravity of it because he was a boy, but I did, and I wasn't sorry, far from it, the only thing I had remorse for was that Armin had been the one to do it, but I wasn't sad that woman had died, she would have killed Jean once she got around to it, and I would have been taking his body back to his mother.</p><p>"I know what it is," Armin smiled sadly, completely missing Jean's apology, too lost in his own guilt to see or hear the words around him, "The woman I shot back there, I bet she was a really kind person, she must have had a lot more human empathy that I ever did, I pulled that trigger so easily, without a thought, I'm..."</p><p>"A killer," Levi declared making Armins eyes snap wide open, the breath knocked out of his chest, "and now that your hands been soaked in blood the person you once were is gone for good."</p><p>
  <em>For fuck sake Levi, not like this!</em>
</p><p>"Levi-" I snapped, ready to put an end to this but Connie beat me to it as he threw his ration bar to the floor with a snarl.</p><p>"Why would you say that?!" he stormed and I was stunned slightly at the ferocity behind his words, even after hearing what happened to his village, he had never shown this level of anger before, this <em>rage.</em></p><p>
  <em>We're all losing ourselves to this war.</em>
</p><p>"You shouldn't regret it for one second," Levi continued on as if he hadn't been interrupted, his eyes fixed on Armin, "because if you had chosen to keep your hands clean, then Jean would be a corpse on a cart right now. I'll tell you why you pulled the trigger because your comrade was about to die. Armin, everyone on our squad survived today because you got blood on your hands." Levi pressed before turning to me and raising his hand to brush his knuckles across my jawline, making my breath catch at the vulnerabilty in his eyes before he turned back to Armin with absolute sincerity in his voice. "<em>T</em><em>hank you."</em></p><p>
  <em>Yes, Armin. Thank you.</em>
</p><p>"Captain Levi" Jean stammered as he got to his feet, his eyes finally meeting mine without condemnation, "I- uh- I thought it was wrong for us to fight humans sir, I thought that it was wrong that you ordered us to do it. I mean, we became soldiers to protect people, but now I see that I was in the wrong sir, next time I swear I'll shoot."</p><p>
  <em>And so, another loses their innocence, on and on the wheel of war spins till there is no one left to play.</em>
</p><p>"I never said anything about what was right or wrong," Levi sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose and I found myself needing to say something, anything to make Jean and Armin not loose their most beautiful qualities, their absolute faith in humanity, "My moral high ground is shot to hell, I have no idea who is in the right at this point."</p><p>"Don't lose your empathy" I said suddenly before I could help myself and realised I was talking to more than Jean and Armin but to Sasha, Connie and Mikasa and most surprisingly, myself and Levi, "One of us should at least have some, least we all forget."</p><p>
  <em>Why did I just say that? ... What good will that do...?</em>
</p><p>"Now, I think it's time we heard what our guests have to say." Levi smiled menacingly as he changed the subject before abruptly turning and stalking towards what was clearly the leader of this ragtag band of kidnappers that couldn't kidnap their way out of a wet paper bag.</p><p>"Mercy please," the leader, an aged fat man with salt and pepper hair, begged as Levi came over to crouch infront of him, "I'm just an old man they used to move cargo. I never want-"</p><p>"I've met this one before during the battle for Trost," Mikasa interrupted, her gaze levelling with mine as her words jogged my memory on what she had told me about her time fighting for the District with the elite squad, "he seemed to be a prominent merchant."</p><p>"The bastard that blocked the escape of Trost citizens?" I asked incredulous, not quite believe this pathetic sack of meat managed to uphold an entire evacuation that cost the lives of not only soldiers but civilians too, "This is <em>him?</em>"</p><p>Whimpering at the tone of my voice, the fat merchant began to shake in his bindings when Levi clipped him over the head in warning before straightening up with cracking joints.</p><p>"Yeah, I know him, Dimo Reeves, right?" Levi asked as he prodded Dimo's bound feet with his foot for an answer.</p><p>"This damn job was forced on us by the military police, and now that we've completely botched it, they will plunder the Reeves company for everything it's worth." Dimo spat out, his eyes darting over the rest of his tied up team with disgust,"First, they will kill me, then they will set up accidents for all of my employees, my dumb son too."</p><p>
  <em>Oh, for fuck sake!</em>
</p><p>"And you're just gonna lay down and take it?" I sneered. As if this was the Dimo Reeves I had heard so much about from the grateful citizens of Trost, the way those people spoke of him you would think that the man shit gold, but no, here he was snivelling in his lackeys piss puddle because he rolled over and showed the MPs his arse, well I for one was not having it. Trost needed this company, her people needed Reeves, and he wasn't going to fail them, not on my watch.</p><p>
  <em>Not after we went through hell to save them!</em>
</p><p>"There is a reason Trost recovered from that Titan attack," I snapped as I grabbed the front of Dimo's shirt and hauled the big man to his feet with surprising ease, "and I would know because I received a shit tonne letters from your neighbours thanking me and praising the high heavens that their jobs and income was still secure because of the Reeve's company. If that disappears, how many would survive the coming winter? How many of the people we saved during the Titan attack are going to starve because you rolled over and allowed the MPs to fuck you over?"</p><p>
  <em>My family was butchered by the MPs, and still we fight back, this man had no excuse.</em>
</p><p>"So what?" Dimo demanded, and a small smile pulled at my lips as a fire ignited in the old bastard's eyes, "You want me to join you?"</p><p>
  <em>That's it, fight for right to live!</em>
</p><p>"Nothing quite so drastic Dimo" Levi scoffed, "We just need to know where Eren and Historia are. If you're in contact with the MPs, I think I have a plan."</p><p><em>And this time, we will be the ones who come out on top</em>.</p><p>"And you give me your word that the people of Trost won't end up starving to death." Dimo pressed hopefully, and I knew then he was with us. Hope is a powerful motivator, and it's very hard to kill, with him on our side, we all but had the District of Trost.</p><p>
  <em>It would start here, the fire that would burn them all.</em>
</p><p>"I can't guarantee it," Levi said, giving the old man the realistic picture and yet again I felt the need to say more, "that said, I believe you will have a better chance with us than without us."</p><p>"We will do everything in our power to ensure the people of Trost don't starve, I swear it" I swore without meaning to speak at all, earning a scowl from my beloved and once again leaving myself wondering what the hell was wrong with me. </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As always a massive thank you to all those who have commented, left kudos, subscribed or bookmarked, and again as always I love hearing from you all, dont be afraid to drop a message, I dont bite I promise!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Sannes, First of the Interior Squad</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>First POV from Hange as the plot begins to unravel. <br/>Warning, description of Torture</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">Hange</span>
</p><p>The lamplighters went about their business as the fading sunlight began to dip below the towering Wall Rose, giving the broken streets of Trost a softer aesthetic to the glaring light of day. There had been not much improvement in this part of town since I was last here, but then again, I had been cutting down Titans not taking in the local scenery. However despite its less than accommodating appearance, Levi was right, this was where we needed to be if we were to succeed.</p><p>"This is the place" Moblit murmured as we came up to a half-boarded townhouse that had definitely seen better days, "It looks like a Titan fell on the neighbouring structure."</p><p>"It will do for now" I hummed before reaching up to unclip my cloak, "Shall we see what Sannes and his pal have to say for themselves?"</p><p>"Gladly" Moblit replied darkly, his lip curling into a sneer that twisted his handsome face with a fit of anger I too was harbouring after receiving Levi's message from Jean in the early hours.</p><p>Our team was gone, brutally murdered, by Sannes and his interior police for reasons unknown and I intended to find out why.</p><p>
  <em>And if I have to rip out his fingernails to find out why, then I absolutely will.</em>
</p><p>Pushing our way into the barely standing home, Moblit and I made our way towards the back of the property, passing the young- and sickly-looking faces of the newly formed Levi squad as the faint echoes of screams floated their way up from the floor below.</p><p>
  <em>Already at work, I see, Levi.</em>
</p><p>Not sparing a glance at the huddle massed around the table, I lead Moblit down into the basement towards the gurgling sound of a man struggling to scream around fluid to pause suddenly on the steps when Aurora, who was pacing outside the closed-door the noise was coming from like a pissed off alley cat, came into view.</p><p>
  <em>Why isn't she part of the interogation?</em>
</p><p>Frowning, I slowly descending the last steps as I took in the ugly splotches of yellow bruises littering her face which had not been there a few days ago when I had last seen her. Bruising like that would have come from a heavy hand or hit to the face meaning that any yellow colouring would have been weeks down the line, not <em>days</em>.</p><p>
  <em>Is she... is she healing faster?</em>
</p><p>"Why are you out here and not in there?" Moblit asked not unkindly and turning to face us, Aurora gave a tight-lipped smile, highlight a healed cut on her thick lower lip, in greeting before jerking her thumb behind her as a particularly guttural scream sounded from behind the door.</p><p>"He didn't want me to see him at work." Aurora shook her head as if the idea of Levi wanting to preserve her view of him as anything less than what he is was utterly stupid, and I agreed with her. Aurora knew what she was getting into with Levi and it seemed counter-productive on Levi's part to try and maintain a perception of him that never existed in the fir- Wait. Unless, it wasn't about him at all. What if it was about Aurora?</p><p>
  <em>Did he not want her hearing what Sannes had to say? What is the point in that!?</em>
</p><p>Growling in frustration as I realised that this was likely Levi's reasoning, I forcefully removed my jacket and threw it aside before rolling up sleeves, booting the door open and dragging Aurora into the room with me because it was damn time we all got some answers, Aurora more than the rest of us, regardless of if we liked what we heard or not!</p><p>
  <em>And if Captain snippety had a damn problem with that, then he could kiss my ass!</em>
</p><p>"I made it!" I announced with a flurry of my hands as Aurora, Moblit and me piled into the room, spreading out to surrounded Sannes, who was tied to his chair, from all angles, "You haven't finished yet have you!"</p><p>"No." Levi snapped, his gloved hands smearing blood off on his apron as his eyes darted between Aurora and me, his face less than amused, as his lip twitched with annoyance, "Haven't even gotten my feet wet."</p><p>
  <em>So, you <b>were</b> trying to keep her out. WHY?</em>
</p><p>Shutting the door behind me as soon as everyone was in, my attention focused on the mess that was Sannes as he sat tied in the centre of the room, the fading light that bleed through a small barred window illuminating the blood that was streaming steadily from his flattened nose, past his swollen lips to drip down on the floor that held enough of his blood he could call it his kin.</p><p>
  <em>And every drop was deserved.</em>
</p><p>"Sannes!" I smiled far too happy considering the dark deeds I was about to undertake "I'm only a novice at human torture, but while I lack experience, I plan to give this job my all!"</p><p>Scoffing as she circled around the front of the beaten man, Aurora picked up a pair of pliers and handed them to me, her eyes darting between a still glaring Levi and Sannes who was staring at her with ill-disguised hatred.</p><p>"Hold on!" Sannes snarled, "At least tell me what you want! Who the hell tortures someone without asking questions!?"</p><p>"Oh yeah," Levi drawled as he finally turned away from his lover to stare icy daggers at his victim, "We do have some questions. Where were Eren and Historia taken? What do you want with Historia and Aurora, and what is the Reiss family?"</p><p>Fixing his burning gaze on Aurora, Sannes spat out a mouthful of blood in her direction in absolute disrespect before hissing "Abomination!" at her. </p><p>Not even sparing a second from the moment that word left Sannes' lips, Levi cracked his gloved fist out across Sannes' jaw, stunning the bastard momentarily before grabbing his hair and forcing his head back with a "That one isn't even original."</p><p>Releasing his hair, Levi took a step back, his eyes flitting around to Aurora who was staring at Sannes with hellfire so scathing I thought the bastard was going to break from the sheer heat of it but alas he did not, and I finally lost my already thinly stretched patience.</p><p>"Oh <em>c'mon</em>, can't you see were in a time crunch here!" I fumed as I stomped around Sannes to bend down in search of his last remaining nail beds intent on getting this shitshow on the road and finding my target, I grasped the nail and began to yank as Sannes' pained screams bounced in my ear yet I remained undeterred. On and on, I pulled out every single nail from its bed, making a mess of his finger tips as his howls of agony bounced of the stones walls of the basement but not once did the fucker break. </p><p>
  <em>All this pain and yet, he will not yield. What was worth all this suffering huh?</em>
</p><p>"Sorry I don't have your knack for peeling nails," I goaded as I threw the bloody pliers on the floor after removing the last nail, "Just how many did you have to rip off to get so good at it."</p><p>"More than I could keep track of," Sannes breathed so quietly that I thought I had imagined it and snapping my head up in disbelief, I saw his head hanging low as he took in deep, uneven breaths, "Within these cramped squaller walls, war has never broken out, and I can tell you why. It's because we, the first interior squad, have dirtied our hands to protect the king's peace. A bloodline that won't die out," Sannes threw Aurora a heated glare, "A teacher too smart for his own good, the stupid couple who tried to fly, a whore who screwed the wrong man, no matter how they beg or plead we erased them to protect humanity. You should be on your knees thanking me, in all my years I've never seen anyone take so much pleasure in human suffering as you. Your all monsters. I had determined to face you without fear, do what you will, I have my faith, and I believe in the king and in peace within these walls. I believe that every last one of my wretched deeds was justified, but to think that it hurt this much. If you're going to torture me to death then get on with it, that seems like a fitting death for this bloodstained life."</p><p><em>You should be on your knees thanking me...</em>.</p><p>Had he really just said that? After all he had just said, after what he had <em>admitted</em> to doing? It was all too much to take in, he had given everything, and yet given us nothing, he had told us we should be thanking him for killing as he had, for killing Aurora's family, for killing Pastor Nick, for killing-</p><p>"What were their names?" Aurora suddenly strained out through teeth clenched together so tightly I feared they might shatter, but it wasn't that which had me rising up to my full height in apprehension, it was the twitches that were spasming across her face from the barely contained chaos within.</p><p>
  <em>What have I just missed?!</em>
</p><p>"Aurora?" Moblit asked concerned as he slowly approached her, so as not to spook her, but Aurora wasn't interested in him, she had her sights set on the quivering man tied in front of her with the wrath of an avenging angel. </p><p>"The stupid couple who tried to fly." Aurora said very <em>very </em>slowly, "What. Were. Their. Names?"</p><p>"I... I...." Sannes stammered in the face of the genuine threat that was now leaning into his personal space with a snarl so viscous it would put wild bears to shame. </p><p>"You don't even remember their names, do you?" Aurora laughed menacingly, and Levi quickly began to put down his tools and pull his bloodstained gloves free clearly anticipating the violence within her that was clearly esculating, "Did you even bother to learn them before you killed them? Did you bother to learn that you would orphan their only child at four years old, that you condemned him to a life of unknowing as to what became of his parents."</p><p>
  <em>Oh shit! Does she mean- </em>
</p><p>"I did what had to be done-" Sannes began to protest, but that was quickly ended when Aurora punched his already broken nose, sending blood spurting across her pale knuckles as she reared back to strike him again.</p><p>"Aurora!" Moblit shouted as he dove forward to grab her but Aurora shoved him back with such an unbelievable force that he was practically thrown across the room and my jaw dropped open in shock. </p><p>
  <em>What the fuck?</em>
</p><p>"THEIR NAMES WERE MARY AND WILLIAM ARLERT YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!" Aurora screamed, her voice hitting a guttural note that had my ears aching as she continued to beat the living shit out of a now openly crying Sannes, "THEIR SON SITS UPSTAIRS, HIS HANDS STAINED WITH BLOOD BECAUSE YOU SET HIM DOWN A PATH THAT WOULD DESTROY HIM AND YOU CAN'T EVEN DO THEM THE HONOUR OF REMEMBERING FUCKING THEIR NAMES!"</p><p>"AURORA STOP!" Levi commanded as he finally grabbed hold of Aurora, but she was too strong. Lunging forward, I did my best to help restrain her, but by the walls, she was using some strength. How was this even possible?! There is no way a woman of her size, no matter her job should have this much clout behind her. </p><p>
  <em>Hang on, was she that enraged that she was tapping into that unnatural strength I had heard about, the same force that had her wrestling with a Titan in Utgerd tower like Connie had said?</em>
</p><p>Sannes' eyes bugged out of his skull as he practically cowered before Aurora's fury, his bottom lip trembling but what struck me as odd was the absolute <em>understanding</em> in his eyes as he watched her try to claw her way back to him. This wasn't the look of a man who was seeing something unbelievable for the first time, this was the look of a man who knew what his enemy was capable of, even expected it. It was his <em>vindication</em>.</p><p>
  <em>He called her abomination... Just like Pastor Nick had.... they genuinely believe...that she was unnatural... all that she can do... What IS she?</em>
</p><p>"Was it you too, huh!?" Aurora screeched, as she tried to kick out at Sannes, missing his face by mere centimeters, "Did you cut my parents throats?!"</p><p>"It wasn't him" Levi grunted as he managed to pull his manic lover back a few more inches and walls know it wasn't because I was making any difference, somehow, he was able to match her, or in the very least challenge her.</p><p>
  <em>What the fuck is going on!? How does Levi know it wasnt him, after all, he practically just admitted it to her face. </em>
</p><p>"Did you watch them bleed out?!" Aurora continued her mad rantings, and though I couldn't blame her for wanting the answers she deserved it wouldn't do us good if she beat our only way to figure out the truth to death, "Did you kill my mother like you did her cousin and his wife!? She was a defenceless woman who was carrying twins in her womb you spineless dog! Did it make you feel big and strong when you slashed her throat?!"</p><p>
  <em>If we let go, she will kill him.</em>
</p><p>"Aurora," Levi tried again, he knew what was at risk if Aurora couldn't be controlled, "Listen to me-"</p><p>"ANSWER ME GOD DAMNIT!" Aurora roared, her voice taking on a dual-edge as hoarseness began to take hold of her vocal cords, too far gone in her anger to notice the damage she was doing to herself, "ANSWER ME OR I'M GOING TO TAKE YOUR EYES OUT ONE AT A FUCKING TIME-"</p><p>"IT WAS KENNY!!" Levi shouted like I had never heard him before and instantly his words had an effect on Aurora as she froze and slowly turned her wide mismatched eyes to him in a mixture of shock and slow-building realisation as Levi continued in a much gentler tone, "It was Kenny. Kenny the Ripper killed your parents."</p><p>
  <em>The mass murdered who killed all those MPs... He killed her Parents... but wait... Kenny... I know that name... oh shit... Levi, What have you done?</em>
</p><p>"How do you know this?" Aurora whispered as she detangled herself from mine and Levi's grip, her bottom lip trembling as she watching Levi with a growing suspicion that had Levi's hand reaching out and hastily chasing after her.</p><p>
  <em>Levi, you fucking idiot. </em>
</p><p>"He told me," Levi admitted reluctantly, his dark brows upturned in an almost pleading gesture, this was what he was trying to keep from Aurora, this was why he didn't want her in the room, because he was afraid she would learn that the thug that had raised him was the same bastard that had taken her parents from her, "During the plan before I shot him, he told me he cut your parents' throat. That he killed your mother while you and your brother lay in her womb."</p><p>Stepping further back out of his reach, Aurora shook her head slowly, eyes holding a hint of betrayal at the information being kept from her before her face voided of all emotion that had a pitiful choking noise escaping Levi's throat. Turning on her heel, Aurora made to leave the room and scrambling, Levi made to follow, her name a desperate plea upon his lips when suddenly she whirled around and pointed her finger at him with a deadly look in her eyes that had him and the rest of us freezing on the spot.</p><p>
  <em>Ah shit.</em>
</p><p>"Do not touch me", Aurora warned only once before following through with her exit plan, leaving Levi standing there practically shaking with anger, though guilt should probably sit better with him the stupid bastard. Sighing through my nose, I moved to the furious Captain and placed my hand on his shoulder to remind him that despite what had just happened, we still had a job to do for not only Aurora but for Eren, Historia and ultimately all of Mankind.</p><p>
  <em>They will have to hash their lover's quarrel out later, right now we have an MP to break.</em>
</p><p>"I think it's time we took a break", I told Levi pointedly and shrugging off my hand, the titan slayer of the decade stormed from the room with Moblit and me following slowly behind, leaving the heavy wooden door to Sannes' room of pain open, to allow Levi to enact plan B.</p><p>
  <em>Let this cut deeper than any knife we have. </em>
</p><p>"Quit shoving me, it hurts." The MP who had been captured with Sannes whined in Levi's tight grip as he shoved him forward with more force than was necessary, likely an outlet from the frustration the Captain was no doubt feeling from his own mistake. </p><p>"How pathetic can you get?" Levi snarled as he shoved the MP towards Sannes cell but not in a too obvious way as to give away the plan while I pulled out the prewritten answer for the MP to read, careful to remain out of sight, "I can't believe you started talking after just one nail, Sannes doesn't have any nails left, he is a real soldier."</p><p>"Like I care," The Mp read out loud correctly, though he had no choice if the well-hidden blade currently pressed him his back by Levi was any indicator, "He can get tortured all he wants, the guy never shuts up about peace and the king. The rest of us all hate his damn guts, just do us a favour and kill him already."</p><p>
  <em>Perfect.</em>
</p><p>"We're gonna have to keep him around till he has verified what you told us." Levi drawled, his eyes meeting mine with a subtle head nod.</p><p>"Yeah well you got everything you wanted out of me so why don't you lay off already," the MP said with tears streaming down his face, the guilt of betrayal heavy on his heart, "Oh and about my cell, it will have a bed right?"</p><p>
  <em>Balls in your court now Sannes, do as you will. </em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As always a massive thank you to all those who have commented, left kudos, subscribed or bookmarked, and again as always I love hearing from you all, dont be afraid to drop a message, I dont bite I promise!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Power Lies in the Blood</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sannes finally caves and reveals the biggest secret of the age.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">LEVI</span>
</p><p>Anxiety bled into my bones as I ascended the stairs to the main living room because despite still believing I had done the right thing, the look on Aurora's face when she understood what I had kept from her had frightened the shit out me. It was after all a look I had seen before almost precisely two years to the day, the day I had taken her against the stable wall and told her it meant nothing.</p><p>
  <em>The look of absolute nothingness.</em>
</p><p>I would never forget that look as long as I lived. It had haunted me in my mind's eye every time we fought, it even haunted my dreams, when I slept long enough that is. In those dreams, Aurora would finally realise I wasn't good enough for her and she would look at me with such emptiness just like she had in the stables before leaving me in the darkness. It was one of my greatest fears, and as such, I had hoped to never see that look again in the waking world however due to what had been interpreted as my betrayal, I had been graced with that mask of indifference once again moments before she had walked away from me, just like I feared.</p><p>
  <em>I have to explain, she will understand once I explain. She has too.... right?</em>
</p><p>I had kept the truth about Kenny from her because she needed protecting not just from Kenny but from herself. Aurora was strong and powerful when it came to killing Titans but Kenny the Ripper was far more dangerous than any Titan she had faced, he would gut her like a fish without a moment's hesitation, and she, blinded by her anger and need for revenge, would allow him to do just that by seeking him out in a temper.</p><p>
  <em>And I will not allow that to happen.</em>
</p><p>Coming into the main room where the others were waiting, I saw Armin hunched over with his head in his hands as heavy sobs broke from his chest, clearly he had heard everything downstairs thanks to Aurora screaming. His parents had been murdered by the Interior Police for daring to test the walls, and he was their lasting legacy. </p><p>
  <em>Poor bastard.</em>
</p><p>Mikasa was trying her best to comfort him, but she looked as uncomfortable as I felt at seeing the emotional display, it was strange sometimes how much that brat reminded me of myself at times but of course, as sad as all this was, I wasn't here for them, I was here for Aurora.</p><p>Scanning the room, I found nor hight nor hair of the furious redhead as I had expected upon seeing her cousin's distress, instead, my eyes landed on Jean who staring at a flight of stairs that lead to the upper floor with a look of deep concern on his face, no doubt in worry for the same reason as I.</p><p>Making my up the stairs, I passed Jean whose face twisted into a scowl as soon as I stepped by him before arriving on the top floor and spotting the dim candlelight flickering in the room that Aurora had claimed as our quarters as soon as we had arrived in this shithole, I walked over to the door, pausing as my soon as my hand made contact with the handle.</p><p>
  <em>For the love of the walls hear me out you stubborn woman. </em>
</p><p>Taking a deep breath, I  slowly opened the door to the dimly lit room, my eyes falling on Aurora's back as stared out the single window, her arms wrapped around herself in a tight embrace with her face reflecting clearly in the glass, giving me a view of the turmoil that was etched upon her face. I could almost see the wheels turning behind her eyes which flickered in the candlelight, that was until her gaze met mine in the reflection, and once again, all emotion bled away from her pale face.</p><p>
  <em>Fuck.</em>
</p><p>"Well shit," I sighed as I closed the door behind me to give us some semblance of privacy, "Go on, have at me."</p><p>Turning her head slightly, Aurora kept her back to me as though I was a complete stranger, her fingers digging further into her clothes as she tightened the hold she had on herself, almost like she was trying to keep herself together. The thought of that in my presence after all we had been through had my throat constricting painfully.</p><p>"When were you going to tell me?" she asked in a no-bullshit tone that had my feet moving towards her of their own accord so I could touch her and break whatever this was that was standing between us.</p><p>"If you let me explain-"</p><p>"I don't want to hear excuses, Levi." Aurora bit back, her fire rising once again and halting my advance I felt my own temper prick at the walls she was throwing up around herself, "When were you going to tell me? When were you going to tell me that Kenny the ripper, the man who taught you everything you know,  who raised you after he took you from your mother's corpse, took his knife to my parents' throats? Were you ever going to tell me?"</p><p>
  <em>Not until I was sure Kenny was dead.</em>
</p><p>"I was going to," I began, careful of my wording as the set of her shoulders became tense and hostile, "When we had a moment-"</p><p>"A moment?" Aurora scoffed as she finally turned to face me and I did not like what I saw written across her pale features one bit, so much so that my heart began to beat faster with an ill-disguised fear that was quickly taking hold, "Do you not remember me specifically asking you in that bastard warehouse if there was more? Would you say that might have been an opportune moment to say yeah, Aurora, listen, I have something important to tell you?"</p><p>"My head was all over the fucking place," I stammered suddenly, all control leaving me as Aurora's Anger, words pouring from my mouth that were simply not true, "See these stitches you put in, someone shot at my head!"</p><p>
  <em>What the fuck am I saying?!</em>
</p><p>"Oh cry me a fucking river, Levi. You got injured in the field, when has that ever happened to a soldier?!" Aurora snapped, her hands gesturing aggressively in the air and taking a step closer, I watched her eyes narrow at me in suspicion as she appraised me, "So come on then, what did dear old dad have to say?"</p><p>"He's not my father." I spat as I took another step towards her, my anger beginning to rise to match her own after hearing her call Kenny my father. In response, Aurora also took another step forward to invade my personal space with violent intent burning in her eyes. </p><p>"What. Did. He. SAY?!" Aurora snarled as she emphasised every single word.</p><p>Doubt began to pull at my mind as I took in her heaving chest and the dark blush that was crossing her sharp cheekbones, she was absolutely furious.  Couldn't she see why I had done what I had done? Didn't she realise what all of this meant? Of course, she didn't, like always she was listening to her heart instead of using her head. She never learns, no matter how many die, no matter how many times she loses, she never fucking <em>learns.</em></p><p>
  <em>Fuck it! She wants to know so bad then fine! I'll tell her the dark things he told me, I'll tell her what she wants to know so badly and damn the consequences! If she wants to condemn herself to hell, then who am I to stop her!</em>
</p><p>"He said he killed your parents," I ranted darkly as my voice began to rise with the rage I was starting to unleash, my eyes boring into hers so she understood exactly what it was I was trying to protect her from, "He got <em>real </em>specific about cutting their throats. He said that you come from fighting stock, that your father fought but was overwhelmed by numbers. He said your mother didn't scream, not even for the babes in her belly. He said that you should be <em>proud</em> that they died with dignity."</p><p>
  <em>He called you dirty names, bragged about killing Nifa and the others, laughed as he talked about killing your mother...</em>
</p><p>My breath was coming out in heavy pants by the time I had finished my raving speech, but it had had its intended effect. Aurora was stunned into silence as my words sunk in, her brows pushing upwards as understanding seemed to dawn and a new emotion flitted across her face. It was then that I finally began to take a deep breath, hoping against hope she finally understood the monster that was Kenny the Ripper and why I had kept his truth from her when she suddenly burst out laughing like a fucking lunatic.</p><p>"Oh, I'm gonna kill him." Aurora cackled as her eyes took on a crazed edge, "I'm going to make him <em>scream</em> before I cut his fucking throat."</p><p>
  <em>OH FOR <b>FUCK</b> SAKE!THIS! THIS IS WHY I DIDNT SAY ANYTHING! WAS SHE FUCKING SOFT IN THE HEAD! CAN'T SHE HEAR WHAT I'M TRYING TO TELL HER!</em>
</p><p>"Don't overestimate yourself," I snapped as I grasped her shoulders to rattle that demented smile of her face, "Trying to fight him would be like fighting me, you won't win."</p><p>
  <em>And I will lose you.</em>
</p><p>"Don't you underestimate <em>me</em>!" Aurora stormed as she shoved against my chest, her teeth bared in defiance, "I may not hold a candle to your skills at Titan slaying, but I was raised by Rowan Sparhawke to kill <em>men</em>, don't ever for a second think that your precious Kenny is beyond my reach or you for that matter!"</p><p>
  <em>Did she just threaten me?!</em>
</p><p>"Will you just stop!" I shouted, my hands snaking out to grasp the sides of her head to force her to look at me, to see the fear in my eyes, to see what her anger was blinding her too, "This is why I didn't want to tell you! Your temper is getting in the way of everything! Like it always does! If I thought for one second you could handle hearing it without losing your shit or turning into a crazy bitch, I would have told you the truth-"</p><p>"How dare you!" Aurora stormed, her fist coming up to strike me across the face and what a strike it was, hitting right across my jaw. Had I been any other man that punch would have knocked me clean out but I was not any other man, and I was <em>pissed.</em></p><p>
  <em>This ends now!</em>
</p><p>Lunging forward, I grasped her arm as it swung back to take another swing at me, but she was quick and dodging my assault, Aurora spun to try and disengage, but we were already tangled. Before I knew what was happening, we were crashing into the wall with pained grunts as we wrestled for control of the other. Somewhere along the line in our heated scuffle, Aurora shoved against my chest, forcing me back into the wooden wall again and in retaliation, my body acted on instinct in the way it always fucking does when this woman was on a violent streak.</p><p>Blood soared in my veins as the scent of her filled my nose, a scent so intoxicating it all but clouded my thoughts as I pulled her to me roughly, spun us about and crashed my lips against hers in a complete show of dominance, a dominance that was met with equal vigour.</p><p>Grasping the front of my shirt so tightly that her knuckles began to pop, Aurora pressed her body against mine in a way that left little to be desired as a deep, borderline aggressive, moan dragged its way up her throat and purred its way onto my swelling lips.</p><p>
  <em>Fuck.</em>
</p><p>What happened next, I couldn't tell you, but somehow our shirts had been tossed somewhere in the room, and my pants were down around my ankles with Aurora's legs hooked around my torso, her own pants bunched around one leg as she rocked herself against my painfully hard erection.</p><p>Leaning over her, I covered a stiff nipple with my mouth, teeth pulling at the puckered bud, draggin a pained hiss of pleasure from Aurora's lips. A spark of carnal bliss ran down my spine as she arched her back, head falling back to slide against the wall giving me access to her beautiful neck, which I wrapped my hand around possessively.</p><p>
  <em>Mine.</em>
</p><p>Snapping her head back around to meet my eyes, the fury she still held burned in her gaze and pushing against the wall, Aurora forced my legs to buckle so that we hit the wooden floor, her hips straddling mine as she began to grind her dangerously wet folds against my length with her hands grasping mine and pinning them above my head.</p><p>
  <em>So, this is how we're doing this?</em>
</p><p>Dark anticipation flooded my senses, this wouldn't be like the many times we had made love, this would be fucking in the most carnal sense, this was a battle of wills, and I would be damned if I rolled over, after all, she wanted a fight, thats all she wanted these days.</p><p>Thrusting my hips quickly, I knocked Aurora from her saddle and rolled us, knocking furniture in our wake, till I was positioned above her, my cock pressing against her entrance as I glared down at her in a warning. This was her out, I would never force her, never take more than was offered. If this was what she wanted, then fine, but she had to make the decision for I would not be gentle once we began. </p><p>
  <em>Not that she wants me to be.</em>
</p><p>Grasping the back of my neck, Aurora forced my lips against hers before wrapping her legs around me, pushing my ass downwards with her ankles so that my tip pushed passed her entrance and into her tight heat.</p><p>
  <em>Fuck.</em>
</p><p>Growling, my hand clawed its way back upward to grasp her throat and push her down against the floor so I could watch as I slammed home and buried myself entirely. Eyes blowing wide, Aurora tried to arch of the floor, but my vice-like grip held her in place as my free hand grabbed one of her legs and forced it up over my shoulder before I set a punishing pace that had us both growling and moaning with absolute sin. I didn't give a single fuck that we were making so much noise that every fucker in this house could hear if anything that only made my balls tightened as the slapped against Aurora's flesh with the thought of what they <em>could</em> hear.</p><p>
  <em>Let them hear, she is mine, and I am hers. Nothing else matters.</em>
</p><p>I don't know how long I kept Aurora bent like that, it could have been hours or days, but I do know when she had had enough of being submissive. Keening in frustration, Aurora's fingernails dug into my back as she dragged them down my flesh, leaving a stinging wet trail where she drew blood and hissing in pain I reared back, pulling Aurora with me before rolling her onto her stomach and pulling her up onto her hands and knees.</p><p>
  <em>Fuck me that's a view.</em>
</p><p>Spearing her once again, I grasped her hips and began to thrust with everything I had, hitting that spot I knew so well deep inside that made her channel flood with fluids and tighten simultaneously as high-pitched moans and gasps tore from her throat every time I bottomed out. </p><p>Sweat trickled into my eyes as Aurora forced her body back against mine, creating an obscenely wanton sound of flesh slapping against flesh that made my stomach muscles tightening with my coming peak, but I couldn't, not yet, not without her. Leaning forward to grasp Aurora's hair, I pulled her up so I could push my hand down between her folds to the little bundle of nerves I oh so loved and began to furiously rub circles into it while maintaining my vicious pace.</p><p>Aurora's answering cry was instantaneous as both her hands reached behind her to fist into my hair, yanking <em>hard</em> as her insides clamped down around my cock in grip so tight stars blew behind my eyelids. As if it was possible, my thrusts grew faster and more erratic and it wasnt long before Aurora's sheath spasmed painfully around me as she cried out in euphoria, ripping my peak from me with a roar. </p><p>Bodies shaking in our joint high, we collapsed forward with my hips still jerking into her, her canal still fluttering with each jolt as our laboured breathing began to even out from our extremely strenous fucking.</p><p>
  <em>Shit. That was.... fuck. I don't even know what that was.</em>
</p><p>"Fuck." Aurora breathed into the wooden floorboards, mirroring my own sentiments as I began to soften within her, her nails digging into the floorboards as aftershocks continued to ripple through us both. </p><p>"We just did." I laughed a little breathlessly into her hair and twisting her head back to glare at me, Aurora pushed me off, and out, of her with a hiss before getting to her feet and looking for her discarded clothes with a deep scowl on her face.</p><p>Fear grasped my heart again and jumping up, naked as the day I was born, I caught her gently by her arm and pulled her to me, clothes entirely forgotton and brought my hand up to her face to force her to look at me, though somehow, she managed not to.</p><p>
  <em>Please look at me.</em>
</p><p>"Talk to me." I pleaded, "Please Aurora, just talk-"</p><p>"What's the point in talking? You keep making decisions for me regardless of what I think," Aurora stated suddenly, and the wind was knocked out my chest as I stared at her hardening expression, "First you kept Erwin's plan for Eren's trial from me, then the plan for the 57th expedition, Jannick's story and now this. Each time I've justified your reasons for keeping me in the dark but I can't anymore, a pattern is forming, and I don't care for it."</p><p><em>No please, you don't understand..</em>.</p><p>"Do you blame me?" I tried to reason though this time I did not raise my voice, something about the look in her eyes had me fearing that if I did, she would pull back from me, "You didn't see yourself after Rian died. You were so ...lost. I thought you wouldn't come back to me, that you would sit staring at nothing for the rest of your life... I'm afraid that-"</p><p>"That I will lose myself again?" Aurora said softly, her face twisting to that of pain and I hated myself at that moment for causing it, "Rian was my twin brother, the last part of my family that shared my blood entirely. Do you have any idea how unnatural it feels to know that we came into this world together, but we're going to die apart?"</p><p>
  <em>Oh, my love...</em>
</p><p>"Of course you don't." She continued on as a matter of factly when I failed to answer her, my silence undetering "Well, I'll tell you. It <em>hurts</em>. It hurts so much that at times I can't breathe and I can't fathom what to do next because how do you keep going when the worst thing has happened? But do you know what I tell myself, how I manage to take the next step and the next? I remind myself that I'm still here. That I have a duty to avenge him."</p><p>There were no tears in her eyes, no self-pity. She was simply telling me how it was, how it would always be. There would never be a day that goes by that this pain would not make itself known, a pain that had changed her from the inside out, that had taken away the woman I had met two years ago on the training ground and replaced her with this being of wrath and hate that I now held in my arms. </p><p>
  <em>and yet I love her more now, as she is, than I ever did back then.</em>
</p><p>"Anger is more useful than grief, and my anger is beyond wrath. I have made peace with the fact that if I'm going to burn in this hell that they made, then they will burn with me." Aurora smiled softly then, her eyes casting down to her hands in acceptance as they hardened into fists but I wouldn't accept that, not now, not ever. Did she realise what she had just said? Did she realise that she had forsaken herself for vengeance? I was all aboard for revenge; I would help her get there so she could take it but allowing herself to burn? No, that I will not allow.</p><p>
  <em>I'd die first.</em>
</p><p>"And when it's over?" I demanded though not unkindly, "What then? What happens after the fire is out? What becomes of you?"</p><p>"I don't know, but I've got to figure that out for myself." Aurora sighed as she gently pushed my hands away. Suddenly it felt like my whole world was beginning to crumble as she continued to tear pieces of my soul away with her words, "My whole life I've been manipulated one way or another, pushed and pulled in this or that direction, <em>lied</em> to over and over, and now your making decisions for me, keeping things from me like I'm some wayward brat and then you feed me that bullshit line of "You didn't see yourself after Rian died". You've been doing this long before my brother was murdered and I'm so fucking done with it."</p><p>
  <em>No... Please don't be saying what I think you're saying, please no.</em>
</p><p>Panic, sheer blind fucking panic. That's what was tightening in my chest because as soon as those last words left her mouth, I knew she meant them. She meant every damn word. </p><p>"What are you saying?" I stammered, the words leaving my mouth before I could stop them because despite asking for the clarification, I knew exactly what she was saying.</p><p><em>She's finally seen how bad I am for her…</em> <em>just like Rian said I was.</em></p><p>"I'm saying I'm not a child to be fretted over, only let in on the big secrets when it suits others or when you think that I can handle it. I survived Shiganshina, the cadets, the destruction of my family and the government's knives in the dark. I am a soldier of humanity, blooded and tested in combat, gifted with abilities beyond that of mere men. I wasn't born to be a piece in some man's game, and I'm done playing along. From now on I decide what I need to know, even if it means I lose my shit as you so eloquently put it and from there I will I decide what's right for me and if you can't get on board with that then I don't know where we go from here." Aurora trailed off, her eyes filling with sadness as she finally looked up and met my eyes.</p><p>
  <em>No...</em>
</p><p>"But... I love you...." I whispered pitifully as if that would erase everything wrong between us because she was right, I had made decisions for her, I had rationalised that acting out of love made it right when in reality it made me no better than the likes of her grandfather.</p><p>
  <em>All I wanted was to keep her safe and her I've only succeeded in pushing her from me.</em>
</p><p>"And I you but that changes nothing", Aurora said quietly, but she may as well as drove a knife through my heart because that's what those words were, and walls did they cut deep. Gathering up the rest of her clothing Aurora quickly dressed before making her way over to me. Leaning up slightly, she placed her open palm against my jaw, soothing the tenderness that came from her fist before placing a chaste kiss on my lips and taking leave of the room, my heart with her. </p><p>
  <em>What have I done?</em>
</p><p>A trend was beginning to occur as once again I was unsure how long I stood there contemplating what had just happened while dressing my self. A part of me wasn't surprised Aurora had said what she said, after all, everything else in my life had gone to shit why shouldn't the one last thing I had do the same-</p><p>
  <em>Stop it! She hasn't abandoned you, you fucking idiot! She's telling you to start acting like her equal instead of her keeper or she will! So get a fucking grip and act like her lover, not her damn father!</em>
</p><p>Of course that would be easier said than done, I needed to protect her, because as much as she could defend herself there was one thing she was missing. That with her lay the last of my humanity, the last of my heart. Should she perish, the best of me would die with her. </p><p>
  <em>Rather her than anyone else, maybe that old crone was right, we can't escape our destiny.</em>
</p><p>Shaking myself from pity parade, I snapped myself back to attention and exited that damned room with haste, heading straight to the main room where everyone was waiting for me to finally get this over with.</p><p>
  <em>The sooner the better.</em>
</p><p>"All made up?" Hange asked with a slight smirk on her face as soon as I came into sight, but I was in no mood for her bullshit. Not when we had work to do. </p><p>"Fuck off four eyes." I snapped before storming down to the basement and shoving the door open to greet our guest who was in for another round of torture. One way or another, we were getting answers, and if I had to break every bone in this fucker's body to get them, then that's what I'm going to do.</p><p>"Ready Sannes?" Hange chirped as she, Moblit and Aurora entered the room and stood before the quietly sobbing man who was caked in his dry blood and spittle, "Were gonna try it again? This isn't easy for me either but I'm going to be the best torturer I can -</p><p>"Reiss is the true royal family," Sannes muttered in utter defeat as he finally succumbed to us but as earth-shattering as what he just revealed was, it was nothing compared to what came next, "and the Sparhawkes are it's bastard bloodline." </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A special thanks to fireheartgorattlethestars on Tumblr for putting up with my incessant need to hear feedback and for providing some incite from the readers perspective, it's very much appreciated 😀😀. <br/>As always, thanks for the kudos, bookmarks and subscription, Im so glad your all still with me and enjoying my fic but I gotta ask, how many of you worked out the Sparhawkes were descendant from royalty?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. The Call of Destiny</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Aurora begins to understand who she is as does Hange.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">AURORA</span>
</p><p>
  <em>The Sparhawkes are its bastard bloodline.</em>
</p><p>I kept running that line through my head over and over, my argument with Levi pushed to the back of my mind, as Hange, Moblit and I transfered a poorly bandaged Sannes back to his cell, but no matter how many times I repeated it, the outcome was still the same. Denial.</p><p>I couldn't comprehend the information, or maybe I didn't want to, because if I did, then I would have to accept that my own blood kin had butchered my family for something as simple as sharing said blood in our veins.</p><p>
  <em>But of course, it wasn't simple was it, because it's always something more.</em>
</p><p>My newfound royal lineage was only one part of the bigger picture, the picture that had the great king Reiss shitting his pants because somewhere along the line, my royal blood became a threat and the only thing a king would fear is a threat to seat that he sat his mighty ass upon.</p><p>
  <em>And what a threat it was.</em>
</p><p>Sannes had gone into great detail, or rather, great detail about what he actually knew about my family and what he said had been more a powerful blow for it would seem that I wasn't just the descendant of <em>one</em> royal bastard but in fact, the descendant of <em>multiple</em> royal bastards and legitimate last born sons and daughters of the kings of old because despite not being good enough to marry into prestigious houses, my royal ancestors were too good to be allowed to breed with commoners and were married into my so-called disgraced <em>noble</em> house in what was an attempt to keep the royal blood strong.</p><p>Oh yes, I was nobility apparently as well as of royal descendant and such my blood was as blue as beloved king Reiss and with him only having Historia, another bastard, as his only surviving child, it would seem my breathing threatened his branch of the family tree and ultimately his crown.</p><p>
  <em>Because obviously, that was what I wanted wasnt it? Not an end to the Titans, not to live free, but his stupid fucking crown!</em>
</p><p>It all seemed counterproductive really, after all, it was their actions that led us here. Had they not seen to my mother's and father's deaths, then we would not be here. Had they not sent more cutthroats to kill my brother and I then we would have been none the wiser, my sight would have been fixed on defending humanity, but the reality was they <em>had </em>killed my parents, they <em>had </em>tried to kill my brother, and they <em>had </em>tried to kill me.</p><p>
  <em>And so here we are, both standing on opposite sides of the abyss that threatened to swallow the last of our name, waiting for the other to make their move.</em>
</p><p>And make it soon I would have to. I didn't want his fucking crown, tainted as it was, it could be melted for all I cared, but if Reiss kept it resting upon his brow, then I would be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my days, condemned to the life my grandfather had, living in the shadows. I couldn't live like that; my unique talents didn't allow for such luxury. I was meant to fight for our people, but more importantly, I was the last Sparhawke, and as such I had been charged with the burden of survival by not just my grandfather but by my brother, my mother, my father and all those who came before me, all taken before their time, all suffering at the hands of this king or that king who bared the name was Reiss. </p><p>
  <em>All for what?! For power?!</em>
</p><p>"<em>Aurora….</em>" A faint childlike whisper sounded out of nowhere and immediately pain burst behind my eyelids as colour exploded out of the people surrounding me, their light so blinding that I had to close my eyes against the array lest I turn blind when suddenly more voices began to whisper words in my ears that I had heard once upon a dream.</p><p>
  <em>"Our line has endured 2000 years of suffering, of death and betrayal. We had battled through the ages and fought tooth and nail so that when the time came, you could carry the torch that would light the fires of change."</em>
</p><p>Groaning, I grasped my head with both hands as the whispers got louder, more insistent, and I felt my body lean into the cold stone of the basement walls as my legs began to shake.</p><p><em>"You wouldn't because everything you have ever known is a lie. A lie told by lesser men who held power they did not deserve all for the sake of </em> <strong> <em>peace</em> </strong> <em>. Yes, they called it peace, but in truth, it was a corruption of the truth fed to our people in exchange for their freedom. Locked behind the walls our once proud empire was turned into a kingdom of slaves, and every day our people suffer more and more at the hands of those that see us as less than human, and no one does anything to stop it, but they will learn, you will help them </em> <strong> <em>see</em> </strong> <em> that even with a million lies, the truth always rises!"</em></p><p>Opening my eyes once more, I saw Hange leaning over to peer into my face, her skin pulsating with a blue aura that seemed to bleed out of her and rise up into the floorboards above us, her lips moving but what they said I could not hear for another was demanding my attention.</p><p>
  <em>"Aurora..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"She is your destiny, but you are still chained by the lies of the founder. You must break free, or else you will never be strong enough."</em>
</p><p>The pain flared to new heights, almost like a burning deep within my skull and slumping forward I began to pull at my hair in the hopes of lessening the pain with another when an iridescent light of blue and white burst from my skin, rising to wrap around the light that bled from Hange to form one path of colour.</p><p>
  <em>"become the warrior you were born to be. The one to take up the torch and light the way for our people to follow to freedom."</em>
</p><p>Heat bloomed in my nose before tickling down to my lips and lifting my hand as if in a trance, my fingers brushed a hot sticky liquid when suddenly my surroundings shifted, a flash that at the same time seemed like an eternity for in that split moment, I was no longer standing in the basement hallway but in the dreamscape dunes, light wrapping and writhing in an Aurorae that led to the beacon.</p><p>
  <em>What is happening to me?! Why am I here?!</em>
</p><p>Sound burst in my ears so loud that I had to clamp my hands over my them in an attempt to drown it out, but it was no use for I was meant to hear their screams, their cries of agony as they appeared with their spears in hand, their voices all adding to the chorus of wails that oddly began to feel like chanting when, from out of the crowd, my brother stood forward, his spear pointed towards me with a fierce expression on his face.</p><p>"If you don't do what must be done then the suffering of our people will never end," Rian's voice echoed in my mind, though the words were not his alone as all the Sparhawkes that had come before slammed their spears into the ground over and over, calling for me to act, "They will never be free. The cycle of violence will go on and on till no one is left standing."</p><p>
  <em>They will never be free... I will never be free...</em>
</p><p>The colour pouring from the beacon grew impossibly brighter when suddenly the ground began to shake as light rocked from the beacon in a shockwave, bathing the land in colour, cleansing it as one by one the Sparhawke's disappeared until all that was left was Rian as he reached his free hand out towards me, eyes meeting mine, almost pleading, as his skin began to pulsate and glow with same light the writhed beneath mine.</p><p>"Remember sister!," Rian cried out as the wave began to engulf us both, "Remember, We light the way!"</p><p>The moment the wave hit me I tensed expecting more pain, but it was the exact opposite, I felt <em>strong</em>, conviction even, like everything I had ever done, all that I had endured had been for this exact moment so that I could feel this power running through my veins because that's what it was, <em>power</em>—the same power that Reiss feared, that they all feared, but not me. I was no longer afraid because for the first time since this all began, I finally understood.</p><p>A kingdom of slaves, A lie told by lesser men who held power they did not deserve all for the sake of peace, at the hands of those that see us as less than human, all they had said, they had been trying to tell me the truth all along, I just couldn't see, but It was different now. My eyes were finally open, and what I saw would shake the very foundations of the walls.</p><p>
  <em>We light the way...</em>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span class="u">HANGE</span>
</p><p>"Aurora, you okay?" Moblit fretted as he kept a firm hand on Sannes lest he take advantage of our current predicament, said predicament being a very pale Aurora who was currently clutching her ears, spaced out, as blood dripped from her nose and down her face in an all too familiar display.</p><p>
  <em>Shit! No! Not again!</em>
</p><p>"Aurora!?" I fretted as I leaned down to look into her glassy eyes, shaking her shoulder's violently, when suddenly she broke through whatever was clouding her mind and slowly but surely flitted her now bright eyes to my face, a slow smile of awe spreading across her face, "Are you okay?"</p><p>"Yes." Aurora breathed, her face alight with something I hadn't seen on her face but on Pastor Nicks, belief, "I'm alright now."</p><p>Shivers ran down my spine when she said those words because she wasn't alright, far from it, her face was still pale and blood still sluggishly trickled from her nose, but it wasn't the blood that had set me on edge, it was the way her eyes held mine in reverie that had my brows pulling together in concern.</p><p>
  <em>What the hell just happened?</em>
</p><p>Assuring me once again that she was fine, more than actually, I nodded my head in a jerking motion, I gestured for Moblit to carry on with our prisoner, my eyes flitting every so often back to Aurora as she watched Sannes like the Hawke whose name she bared, with her unnaturally bright eyes. Despite what had just happened,her colour had returned to her face and with the blood wiped away, I wouldn't have been able to tell anything had happened at all had I not seen it for myself, which in itself was beyond strange.</p><p>
  <em>Something is happening to her, I can feel it. Is this why Levi was afraid?</em>
</p><p>Reaching the cell that we had fashioned since being here, I stepped forward as I puzzled over Aurora's changing nature and unlocked the gate for Moblit to guide Sannes inside to accompany his comrade, who upon seeing Sannes, was sat staring from his wooden cot with absolute horror.</p><p>"Sannes your face? What happened?" Ralph choked out before his face paled considerably, "Wait! Did you- they didn't actually make you talk did they? We swore a vow of loyalty to the king-" Lunging forward Sannes cut off Ralph's words as he wrapped his still bleeding fingers around the younger man's throat and began to squeeze the life out him with animalistic growls.</p><p>
  <em>These men, they are never happy unless they are killing someone.</em>
</p><p>"I can't stand to hear another word out of you!" Sannes wailed like an infant, his fingers digging deeper into Ralphs rapidly purpling neck, "You betrayed me for a bed! To think I trusted you! -"</p><p>"Hey, idiot!" I shouted over his incessant crying, disgusted by the display I was seeing, "He never told us anything, he didn't get a chance too because we never questioned him." Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the final nail for Sannes' coffin, the script we had Ralph read from and took satisfaction in the devastation forming on Sannes' face as he let loose his grip on Ralph, "This is the conversation you heard, we forced Ralph here to read this at knifepoint, it was staged."</p><p>
  <em>Betrayal cuts deep, doesn't it Sannes?</em>
</p><p>"Then it was me, I'm the one who betrayed the kings' secret." Sannes whispered, his hate-filled eyes filling with tears before he turned them to glare right at me, "You... you're a devil!"</p><p>
  <em>Yes, thanks to you. We've all had to become devils because of you!</em>
</p><p>"Yes, I think you might be right about that, but I bet Pastor Nick felt the exact same way about you. That's why I felt sorry for you Sannes, not because your nails got plucked out but because of what you've done with your life. Your pathetic!" I spat as I surged forward and grasped the bars with a vengeance and let loose the rage I had inside at having to become the very thing I feared and despised, a monster, "A grown ass man wailing like an infant! Are you sad now!? Well, BOOHOO! You get to spend the rest of your lives doing nothing but eating and shitting in this cell! Enjoy."</p><p>Pushing off from the bars, I turned to leave the pathetic bastard to rot when his broken voice spoke up and echoed my fears out loud for all to hear.</p><p>"It's your turn." Sannes sighed and turning slightly to peer at him over my shoulder. I watched as he sat dejectedly staring at his feet, "There's an order to these things. Perhaps it's the law of human nature, when one's time is over, another must take on the role, and thus the world can never be cleansed of it." Turning his sad eyes up towards me, tears slide down his bloody bandages as he mouthed the last thing I wanted to hear, "Best of luck Hange..."</p><p>Sannes' parting words cut deep, knocking the breath out my chest as I felt an overwhelming need to flee because he was right wasn't he, we could fight against the corruption all we wanted, but the end would always be the same, we would never break the cycle.</p><p><em>Swim in enough foul play, and you will find yourself amongst the pla</em>gue.</p><p>Breathing deeply through my nose, I turned to leave when suddenly Moblit's hand snaked out and caught my arm, pulling me to him slightly and turning to him to see what it was that caused him to take my arm, I saw his eyes trained on Aurora who was now crouched down to Sannes' eyes level, peering through the bars to stare at him with bright eyes.</p><p>
  <em>What is she doing?</em>
</p><p>"Aurora?" I began, confusion pulling at my thoughts at seeing her so close to the man she had hours ago viscously beaten, a man she hated, "What are you-"</p><p>"Do you know how to farm Sannes?" Aurora asked, her gentle tone surprising me as well as Sannes whose head snapped up to stare at her in wide-eyed shock, "Who am I kidding, of course you don't. Your interior police, you don't do peasant work. Well, I do know how to farm, and not because it was the family livelihood because you killed my family before they could pass on any respectable trade." Aurora explained, but there was surprisingly no venom in her voice, "I know because after Wall Maria fell, the lands between there and Rose became Titan territory, meaning we lost the majority of our farmland," leaning further into the bars, Aurora continued on in that same gentle tone that had everyone in the room silent as her eyes fell to her scarred hands, hands that I knew healed ugly because of her time in the fields,"To counteract the substantial loss of crop yield and the thousands of hungry mouths, survivors like me were forced to try and farm frozen earth in a last-ditch attempt to stave off the inevitable starvation. I had thought that month was hell but of course I know better now," Aurora laughed softly, her head tilting to the side slightly as she peered back at Moblit and Me, her burning eyes invoking a deep sorrow before turning back to Sannes, "But as gruelling as it was turning that wasteland over for nothing, I did learn a few things about farming from a foreman who took pity on me. He taught me how to tell if the soil was bad for crops, which it was. He taught me how to plant them correctly without smothering them or putting them too close together least they don't grow right, which they didn't. He taught me how to read a plant to see if it needed water which was pointless since nothing grew, but out all the things I learned from that kind foreman in that freezing month, what I found most interesting was learning what to do with diseased crop."</p><p>Leaning back ever so slightly, Aurora brought her hands up to rest upon the bars as her voice took on a firmer tone, "You see once the corruption sets it, it's impossible to remove with the crop intact, and like all disease it spreads, infecting the other crops. The only way to combat it is to enact a thing the farmers call slash and burn in the aims of isolating the corruption, ripping it out root and stem, burning all traces of it till the land is <em>cleansed.</em>"</p><p>Comprehension suddenly dawned as Aurora rose from her crouch to tower above Sannes, her form exuding power as her shoulders set and her hands returned to her sides, every inch the descendant of the Kings from which she hailed.</p><p>"The King. The government. The interior police. The order of the walls. You're all just symptoms of a disease." Aurora monotoned as her hands clenched to fists by her side and for the first time in my life, I was afraid of my friend because I knew what she was going to do, "On and on you spread your contagion, corrupting everything in your wake and yet, we've allowed ourselves to kneel to your rotten doctrine telling ourselves that it's all for the greater good. That it has all been for peace within the walls. No more."</p><p>
  <em>This is what they have made, they have forced her to become what they feared.</em>
</p><p>Turning away from Sannes, Aurora began to move away, her back straight and face set in purpose when Sannes scrambled to his feet in panic and grasped the bars before shouting after her.</p><p>"Whatever it is that you think you're going to accomplish, you won't." Sannes snarled, his voice hoarse from overuse, "The kings of this land have held the walls for over a hundred years, what could a handful of scouts do against a century-long dynasty? What could you, the last of your line, do against such might?"</p><p>Pausing momentarily by mine and Moblit's side, Aurora tilted her face, which glowed in the torchlight giving her an almost etheral look, back towards Sannes with a grim smile on her face that had a slither of fear running down my back.</p><p>"What any good farmer does with corruption that has been left unchecked in their crop."</p><p>
  <em>Slash and burn.  </em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Warning for coming chapters, from now on I will be entering diverging canon and alterating some change of events, the overall outcome will mostly be the same but how we get there will be very different, I hope you enjoy the path I have set Aurora down. </p><p>Also, as always, a massive thanks to everyone reading this fic and for all the kudos, comments, bookmarks and subscriptions, you guys are literally the best and are keeping me sane through my uni studies!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Update- Story to be put on Hiatus</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hello readers, I have made the decision to put the warriors of the walls on hold til the last few manga chapters come out, I realised as I was writing the next chapter that if I want to do right by my oc then I need to know the over all end game so I can foreshadow or even decide if I want my story to end the same way. As we know this isn’t too far away and as soon as that final chapter is realeased I will immediately get to work on finishing warrior of the walls before moving on to the next and final instalment which I am pleased to announce will be called ‘ The Rise of Eldia’. Of course I’m the mean time, Im not going to stop writing altogether, I’m going to be working on a short story to fill the time which will be centered around The Big Bang Theory Tv show for a bit more light hearted reading just to keep my writing on my toes. I hope to update soon guys and thank you for the continued support! (Please don’t hate me)</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Revelations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">LEVI</span>
</p>
<p>"You have to be shitting me!" Jean sputtered incredulously, like what he was hearing was still so beyond him after all we had seen and done, "They plan to eat Eren?"</p>
<p>
  <em>As if it wasnt fucked enough that Titans wanted to devour us, now our own people wanted to make Eren a snack too.</em>
</p>
<p>"Yes," Hange said with deadly seriousness, and the entirety of the room which held all that remained of the free members of the Survey corps gasped, all besides myself who had come to expect the worst these past few months and Aurora who was staring out the window to the rising sun lighting the city of Trost with an in-depth look of concentration upon her face.</p>
<p>
  <em>What is she thinking?</em>
</p>
<p>"Eren remembered a conversation between Ymir and Bertholt." Hange explained, only adding to the growing horror of the group, "Based on this, we can speculate that Ymir used to be a mindless titan just like the others until she consumed someone, someone from Bertholt and Reiner's group. We've never seen a titan turn back into a human by eating one before, that said, Reiner's comrades aren't normal humans, and there is a different set of rules for humans that can turn into titans. My thought is this, if a titan eats someone with that power, then it will transform back into a human, once more it will attain whatever powers that human had. In the battle the other day, Reiner was throwing titans at Eren as he tried to run away. He knew that Eren had the power to take command of feral titans with his scream, if Erens death would have meant that power was lost he wouldn't have risked it. I think he hoped one of those titans would eat Eren and take his power."</p>
<p>A hushed silence fell upon the group as they contemplated what they had just heard, the thought of our own government taking away our best chance of taking back the lands beyond wall rose was as horrifying to them as it was reality, but even more so was the fact that Reiner had thrown those Titans, killing countless men and women; Rian among them, all to claim Eren's power was something that had them dumbfounded. That was until, of course, til a soft laugh sounded from the far window and all eyes turned towards the redhead standing there.</p>
<p>"That what this is all about," Aurora laughed gently as she turned from her view to greet the group with a lightness about her that had not been there when she had left me upstairs, something between then and now had clearly changed, "Who gets to be king of the titans, who gets to sit upon the throne built by the blood of our people."</p>
<p><em>The blood of our people? Does she mean her parents</em>? <em>Those sent out in operation reclaim Maria?</em></p>
<p>"I think it's more complex than that but yes." Hange agreed apprehensively, her eyes narrowing at Aurora in concern and I felt my own brow furrowing because something wasn't right, something had happened when they had gone down to speak to Sannes again, and I needed to find out what, "If the government has a titan of their own, they will use it to eat Eren and claim the power of his Titan for themselves."</p>
<p>Snarling in frustration, Mikasa shoved out of her seat to act and made a beeline for the door beside me and reaching out, I grasped her arm to haul her ass back, my eyes snapping to Aurora to see her watching Mikasa closely, understanding etched upon her face though there was no shared sentiment to make a play for Eren now.</p>
<p>
  <em>That's a switch.</em>
</p>
<p>"Calm down," I snapped as I forced the girl back into the room, the act of which she fought against until she looked back over her shoulder and saw Aurora merely watching and offering no support, "I know you want to get Eren back but going on a rampage won't help with that. Anyway, we are heading for Rod Reiss's estate, prepare to leave at once."</p>
<p>"Sir." A chorus of assent rung out from the brats before they jumped into action, Jean sending Aurora a troublesome look as he went and began packing up our gear, allowing Hange, Moblit and Aurora and I to hash out the final plan.</p>
<p>
  <em>The timeframe for this would be tight, we cannot afford to fuck around.</em>
</p>
<p>"I'll go tell Erwin everything we have learned about the Reiss family, I'm sure he is waiting to hear from us." Hange ordered and nodding my head in assent, I turned to Aurora as my second in command and gestured with my head for her to take note of what Hange was saying, "You and Aurora head to lord Reiss' estate as fast as you can-"</p>
<p>"I'm staying here," Aurora stated simply, and turning to her in disbelief we all looked at her like she had grown a second head.</p>
<p>
  <em>What the hell is she playing at?</em>
</p>
<p>"Come again" Hange questioned, her brow drawn heavy in confusion and dare I say it, trepidation. A trepidation that had my nerves on edge because she clearly knew something that I didn't, and it was causing her anxiety that was centred around Aurora.</p>
<p>
  <em>What the fuck happened in that cellar!?</em>
</p>
<p>"MPs will be guarding that place like the royal Palace, you will never get close to Reiss's estate; " Aurora declared with her back straight, and her head held high, cutting a regal figure in the squaller around us, "I have a way that we can change that. Play my cards right, it might even free the commander and our comrades in arms for the push on Reiss's estate. I can buy us time."</p>
<p>What way? What could she possibly do that would change what we have to face, sooner or later this conflict was coming to a head, better on our terms now than on theirs later. That and she was a wanted fucking criminal in Trost, more so than the rest of us, she was their prize pig, and they would stop at nothing till her head was on their platter.</p>
<p>
  <em>If she is lucky they will put her down like an animal, if not- well I don't want to think about what they can do to her if they caught her.</em>
</p>
<p>I moved forward to tell her just that when she turned her eyes towards me and fixed me with a challenge that had me freezing in place, her earlier words coming back to haunt me as she dared me to tell her she could not do this, dared me to forbid her from making this decision. Dared me to plan her movements like she had accused me of doing. </p>
<p>
  <em>I wasn't born to be a piece in some man's game, and I am done playing along.</em>
</p>
<p>Fear slithered back into my heart as her gaze hardened along with her resolve and sighing in defeat, I stepped closer and cupped the side of her face, searching for any sign that she was in over her head, that this wasn't what she wanted. </p>
<p>"And no one else can do this?" I asked softly, hoping against hope she was grandstanding to test my commitment to her terms but looking in her eyes I knew such hopes where childish, she had a plan, and she was going to exact it with or without my permission, "It has to, be you?"</p>
<p>
  <em>Don't do it.</em>
</p>
<p>Nuzzling her cheek into my hand in an intimate display that had my heart lurching, Aurora brought her hand up to lace her fingers with mine as her face opened up to me.</p>
<p>"Do you remember what you said to me the night before the 57th expedition?" Aurora pressed gently, eyes soft yet fixed with purpose, and my heart sank as I remembered exactly what I had said to her the night before I had forced her to watch our friends and comrades die, "I need you to do as I say, no questions asked. I had done as you asked, now I am asking the same of you."</p>
<p>
  <em>Using my own words against me, cheap shot my love.</em>
</p>
<p>"Aurora..." I pleaded, her name like a man at pray calling for his god, I knew I had to let her go, and she knew it too. it was just a matter if i would relent or she would force. </p>
<p>"I have to do this." Aurora affirmed before she smiled suddenly in revelation, an act which had my breath catching as it was the first time I had seen her smile with such openness since her brother had been killed, "I don't know how, I don't know why, but I know I have to do this. It's what I was born for, its why I'm here. I can't explain it, but for the first time everything is clear, I finally understand my role in all of this. I have to do this, and deep down, you know it too. I know what I have to do. "</p>
<p>Tears flooded to her eyes but they weren't tears of sadness, but of joy, a sheer blinding joy that had no place here and I was about to grasp her shoulders and demand if she had lost her mind when I suddenly saw the look on Moblit's face. It was the look of a believer.</p>
<p>
  <em>Whatever has happened, he has seen it. He believes what she is saying. That she has to do whatever this is. </em>
</p>
<p>"I will go with her." Moblit declared and snapping her head to him, Hange eyed him with confusion to which Moblit met back with a long stare of his own, apparently, he needed to do this too, or at least see to it that Aurora completed her self imposed task. </p>
<p>
  <em>I don't understand what is going on... what am I missing?</em>
</p>
<p>"You don't have to," Aurora said hastily, and my eyes turned to glare at her because her words confirmed my fears, if this mission of hers was safe then she wouldn't have been so quick to try and talk Moblit out of accompanying her. She was willinging going to put herself in danger, more so than we already were. </p>
<p>"And risk your brother's ghost coming back to haunt me if you die in this shithole of a district," Moblit scoffed, making Aurora's eyes soften, "I think not."</p>
<p>"You have nothing to fear," Smiled brightly once again, giving her a slightly crazed look as she spoke of things that made little sense, "He is already with me."</p>
<p>
  <em>What the hell does that mean?!</em>
</p>
<p>"If it's all the same to you." Moblit pressed and nodding her consent, both Aurora and Moblit turned to Hange and me with determination. The Decision had been made, a bitter decision that would force me from Aurora side once again. </p>
<p><em>I remember all to well how that turned out last time</em>...</p>
<p>"We will rendezvous with you before joining the Levi squad at the Reiss estate. Good luck." Aurora wished us before leaning forward and pressing her lips to the side of my mouth, a chaste goodbye in comparison to all our others before but before she could part from me, I pulled her close and pressed my lips full against hers almost possessively and certainly not appropriate for company. On instincr she reacted, her body melting into mine before pulling away and resting her forehead against mine, that strange almost awe-struck expression on her face.</p>
<p>"Whatever it is that you have to do, do it and come back to us, no heroics." I pleaded, my fingers grasping her chin to make her look at me, my heart breaking as I saw her love for me shining through her mix-matched irises, she still wanted me, "We need you."</p>
<p>"Don't worry my love," Aurora assured as she nudged her forehead against mine once more before pulling away and heading for the door with words on her lips that sparked my memory from a day that seemed a lifetime ago, "My time has only just begun."</p>
<p>
  <em>Power resides in her blood, and before her time is done, the whole world will know it too.</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">EREN</span>
</p>
<p>Moonlight shone through the dirty window, causing my eyes to flutter and pull my clouded mind from the darkness that was swirling around me. Squinting, I fought against my heavy lids and tried to swallow the spit that had pooled in my mouth when suddenly, I realised I couldn't.</p>
<p>
  <em>What the hell?</em>
</p>
<p>Attempting to force myself to swallow, panic began to well in my chest when my teeth brushed against the metal gag that must have been forced into my mouth when unconscious, as had the chains that were tightly wrapped around my hands and feet, forcing me, alongside the still circling drugs, into an virtually immobile state.</p>
<p>
  <em>Chains...A metal gag... to stop me from biting myself...to stop me from transforming...</em>
</p>
<p>Groaning, I rolled towards the moonlight only to freeze as Historia sat on a bed of hay, her wide blue eyes fixed on me as the sound of heavy footsteps raced towards us before the door to our prison swung open to reveal a short, stout man who, after a brief gasp of shock, barrelled towards Historia not sparing me a second glance.</p>
<p>
  <em>NO! LEAVE HER ALONE!</em>
</p>
<p>I cried into the gag, trying to form words that should have expressed the need for that fat man to keep his hands-off Historia but all that came out was grunts and moans as the bastard dropped to his knees before and pulled her in for a tight hug- wait, what?!</p>
<p>"I beg for your forgiveness child." The fat man sniffled disgustingly as he crushed a stunned Historia to his chest before pulling back to peer at her face with wide blue eyes, eyes identical to her own, "Please know that all that I have done, I did to protect you."</p>
<p>
  <em>Protect her!? Kidnapping her was protecting her?!</em>
</p>
<p>"Father?" Historia whispered almost fearfully as she gazed up at what must be Rod Reiss himself, but if he truly was Lord Reiss, why was he here? Why was <em>I </em>here? What did he want from me?!</p>
<p>"Not a day has passed that I haven't thought of you," Lord Reiss whimpered, but there was something about the set of his eyes that had me not quite believing the sincerity of his words towards his daughter, "Long have I dreamed of a day when I could hold you like this. You are special, the blood of the king flows through your veins."</p>
<p>Staring up in awe, Historia hung on his every word, her large eyes filling with tears as her fingers gripped onto his arms as if he was life itself, desperate for him to be close.</p>
<p>"Is that true?" she gasped, her wide eyes going impossibly wider as did my own for what he said changed everything. </p>
<p>
  <em>The blood of the kings.... she is royalty... he is royalty...the king is a pretender....</em>
</p>
<p>"Yes, Historia." Lord Reiss cooed, his honey words dripping like poison to my ears, "The true royal bloodline is carried by the Reiss family, the power to save all of humanity now rests in your hands. Historia, come with me, and I'll show you where it all began."</p>
<p>Pulling his daughter to his feet, lord Reiss led her towards where I lay on my back and for the first time since entering the room, his eyes meet mine in ill veiled hatred before guiding Historia's eyes to my bare arm and pushing their joined fingers against my cold skin. Goosepimples rose along every inch of my body as electric shot through my system, forcing my eyes wide and my teeth deep into the metal gag, breaking the enamel as images painfully assaulted my mind in a way they never had when Aurora or Rian had touched me, for this time, it was a violation. </p>
<p>On and on my mind was bombared with things I had seen and things entirely new. A woman with long dark hair and faraway purple eyes staring at her reflection in the mirror, <em>my </em>reflection. A cruel man sat upon a throne, dressed in historical garb, laughing menacingly as he jabbed his finger at a chained man with dark hair crying out for the dead woman in front of him, her wild red hair fan out on the floor as her blood began to spread towards his feet. Rian lifting me upon his shoulders to watch as the soldiers paraded through the lower town of Shiganshina. An unrecognisable city engulfed in flame, the sky above lighting to the sounds of heavy firing rounds. Aurora, with her short hair, bruised face and head held high, stood upon a dais, a heavy crown in her hands as she placed it upon the brow of a fair-haired woman to the sound of a cheering crowd. A small raven-haired boy with mismatched grey and green eyes ruining towards me in a field of green, his arms out-stretched with joy in his smile as he called my name. My father's tear-stricken face as he stood in a cavern of glass, pleading for his family. A feminine silhouette encased by the blinding light from the beacon she stood before, her arms thrown wide as she screamed in an all too familiar agony.</p>
<p>
  <em>No more! Please no more!</em>
</p>
<p>Screaming against my gag with tears streaming from my eyes, my head fell back against the stone floor as both Lord Reiss, and Historia finally pulled their fingers from skin however that didn't stop one final image from slamming into my mind and groaning against its onslaught, I cried harder as I realised, I had seen this one before.</p>
<p>***********</p>
<p>
  <em>Lying upon the shaking earth with her short cut red hair falling around her face like a fiery halo, Aurora lay motionless and pale as a large splinter of wood jutted from her shoulder, blood pouring from her ears and nose down the sides of her deadly white face, adding to the growing pool beneath her.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Her mismatched grey and grey eyes staring up at me as I ascended above and smiling with bloody teeth, she gave her last smile to a world that had been so cruel. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm Back! Thank you to everyone who has waited patiently for my return, I hope this chapter isnt too much of a dissapointment but I can promise the next chapter coming is going to change everything! <br/>A massive thank you for all the comments, Kudos and subscriptions, your continued support is everything to me! As always feel free to drop a message, its always nice to hear from you readers :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. A game of Chaos</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Canon divergence begins now, the story as promised will not stray to far from the original storyline however the means in which key events happen have and will come to change, some events slightly, some events massively. I hope you like what I am going to do, and buckle in, from here on out its going to be a bumpy ride.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">ERWIN</span>
</p><p>I never thought I'd see the day when having my arm ripped off by a Titan would be beneficial but standing here as a wet eared interior police lackey attempted to put shackles on me, his gormless face puzzling as to why he couldn't shackle my none existening hand was one of the highlights of my career.</p><p>
  <em>Arrested by idiots, wonderful.</em>
</p><p>"For Fuck sake boy! Just escort him out!" The leader of this band of justice enforcers snarled as he stormed forward into my quarters before snatching the shackles from the MP before. </p><p>It appeared the government was more than eager to carry out their plan of oppression by silencing me as they had done my father before me, ensuring all I had learned died with me. That said, I wasn't some unknown teacher among the populace that wouldn't be missed by anyone but his young son, I was a well-known Commander, leader of the forces that liberated this very district. I couldn't be silenced with a knife to the throat like Aurora's parents had been, or how I now suspect my father had been, no, they would have to deal with me officially, with charges and a public spectacle because that's all they had within in their power until they figured out how to do what they had done a hundred years ago.</p><p>
  <em>Erase the memories of every human within these walls.</em>
</p><p>It had been a theory of mine for some time now, a theory that had been strengthened when I had learned of Rowan Sparhawke's story, especially the part where he had told Jannick that the government couldn't <em>control </em>him. In my mind that only meant one thing, Rowan Sparkhawke and Aurora by extension of blood, were immune to the power that erased the memories of the citizens of the walls and it is because of this, they had to die. Of course, It is by association to that Sparhawke blood and our drive to progress that has landed the scouts in this exact position, in fact, I doubt that even had we not found Eren, the fate of the scouts would have led down this same road, the only question is, where do we go from here? For now, I'm out of the game, a piece pushed to the side to allow the queen and her knights to take the board.</p><p>
  <em>Pyxis knows what to do, I only hope Levi, Hange and Aurora can piece it together from there; otherwise, all is lost.</em>
</p><p>The sharp sting of the butt of a rifle jabbing between my shoulder blades forced me to move forward, so holding my head high, I allowed the MPs to lead me out of Trost MP headquarters, into the blinding light of day where a crowd had gathered, no doubt the handy work of the interior police, to witness my shame.</p><p>
  <em>Too bad they couldn't get the shackles on; the picture isn't quite complete without them.</em>
</p><p>I braced myself to receive the stares of malice and contempt from the people of Trost for my so-called crimes, my back straighter than it had been when I was in the shelter of Headquarters, resigned to my fate when suddenly, my eyes caught sight of a short woman dressed in a heavy brown cloak, her golden blonde hair loose and obscuring half of her scarred angular face, leaving her one evergreen eye watching me with deep calculation as I was forced to a stop in front of the masses.</p><p>
  <em>Aurora?... What is she doing here?</em>
</p><p>"I take it you know who this is, right Erwin?" The garrison Commander snarled as he jabbed his hand ahead of me and forcing my eyes away from Aurora as she hid in plain sight, I turned my head towards where the Commander was pointing only to freeze. Lying on the floor, barely a meter away and clutched in the arms of his grieving widow lay Dimo Reeves, his throat slit from ear to ear.</p><p>
  <em>So, this is to be my crime. This is what they will hang me for. </em>
</p><p>"That's Mr Dimo Reeves, he was the head of the Reeve's company." I monotoned, making sure my voice did nothing to incite the masses that had gathered seeking retribution for the one man willing to invest in Trost after the Titan attack, the one man who had secured them jobs and a future.</p><p>
  <em>And thus my fate is sealed. They will call for my blood and interior, every the voice of the people, will give it to them. </em>
</p><p>Allowing my eyes to flit back over to Aurora as she stood in the crowd to see her take on this, I saw her head tilted slightly to the side, vision focused on the alleyway opposite the public display and discreetly following her line of sight I saw her prey quivering in the alley unawares to her gaze. Shrouded in darkness as he watched his mother weep, the son of Dimo Reeve's cowered from view though he had not done a good enough job given how Aurora was watching him like a Hawke.</p><p>
  <em>He knows who truly killed his father, that is why he is hiding, and Aurora knows it too...</em>
</p><p>"Just yesterday at this exact location, Eren Yaeger was abducted by some of Reeve's lackeys." The MP Commander declared loud for all to hear and turning my eyes back to the crowd, I saw the horror cross all of their faces as they listened to the name of the boy who had saved them all, "Reeves was hired to do this by none other than the scouts themselves in the hopes that they could avoid handing Eren Yaeger over to the government. Then when reeves outlived his usefulness, they killed him to stop him from talking. The murderer is still at large, we presume they have Yaeger."</p><p>
  <em>How opportune.</em>
</p><p>"What a convenient story that would be." I all but scoffed, the lack of subtly being used was insulting, an infant could construct a more ensnaring lie, but given the looks of the crowd, the Commander's poison was being ingested precisely as it was meant to.</p><p>
  <em>That's disheartening. They would rather believe lies than seek the truth before them.</em>
</p><p>"I can see what you scoundrels are doing, you're trying to monopolise Yaeger's Titan power and keep it all for yourselves." the Commander accused heatedly, his words driving straight to the heart of the people of Trost and meeting Aurora's gaze once again for a sense of comradery, I puzzled as I watched her bring her hand up to point a single finger at her chest, "That type of action violates clause 6 of the charter of Humanity, I trust that your familiar with that law."</p><p>
  <em>Her?</em>
</p><p>Every scenario ran through my head in the next few seconds as I tried to reason as to why Aurora had gestured towards herself when suddenly it hit me, she was telling to use her, to use her as a blade to defend myself with, a blade that came in the guise of her name and my own words.</p><p>
  <em>I suggest we let the news spread that the heroes of the hour have been rewarded with attempts on their lives and allow this fight to be dragged out of the dark... Alright Aurora, let's play this your way.</em>
</p><p>"One must never prioritise their own gain over humanities survival, am I correct?" I answered loudly so that all could hear, if they wanted to smear the name of the Survey Corps with false crimes, then I shall do the same with the truth.</p><p>"That you are and because the scout regiment is in violation of this law, all scouts must be arrested." The Commander said smugly and fighting to keep the smile from pulling at my lips, I meet his condescending gaze and drove the knife home.</p><p>"And what of Aurora Sparhawke?!" I demanded, my voice ringing over the cobbles to be followed by the hushed whispers of the people of Trost, their heroine causing them all to sit up and listen.</p><p>"What?" The Commander stammered, his now wide eyes darting around the crowd before flashing to the rooftops above where a man and a woman I had previously failed to see stood watching the scene unfold.</p><p>
  <em>There they are, the ones pulling the strings.</em>
</p><p>Subtly gazing back at Aurora, I saw she too had spotted the figures above, but whereas I had kept my face neutral, Aurora's jaw was clenched tight, her body rigid as she glared hellfire.</p><p>
  <em>Don't do anything girl, use your head, I know you have it in you...</em>
</p><p>"I said what about Aurora Sparhawke?" I continued on, my commanding voice drawing Aurora attention, and thankfully the set of her jaw relaxed as she returned to the exchange, "The Battle Angel of Trost, the saviour of this district and an ardent defender of humanity? Besides her being a scout, what crime has she committed that resulted in her attempted murder at the hands of the Military Police the night she liberated Trost?"</p><p>"I don't know what you're talking about?" the Commander visibly panicked, a fact which was not lost on the people gathered around, it seemed Aurora's ploy was paying off.</p><p>"You don't?" I asked with false incredulity, we both knew damn well that he knew what I was talking about and so did his puppeteers on the roof above.</p><p>"The incident happened under your watch sir, right here in this very keep. Aurora and her Brother Rian Sparhawke, another soldier who had fought for the preservation of this district, both had attempts on their lives while they slept, there was no trial, no sentencing, only a knife in the dark meant to cut their throats." I gestured to the body of Dimo Reeves and was rewarded with shocked gasps and quiet outrage, all I needed now was for the commander to implement himself with his own actions. </p><p>"THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH US!!" The Commander declared loudly, too loudly, as his finger shot out to jab towards me in anger, playing right into my hands.</p><p>"I have evidence that suggests otherwise." I condemned softer this time, making sure I did not look the aggressor but rather the voice of reason.</p><p>"Is that true?" A voice from the crowd spoke up, breaking the flood gates and no sooner as that one brave soul sounded precisely as I had hoped, did multiple voices rise to be heard above the growing, disorientated anger that was now no longer solely directed at me.</p><p>"She saved my sister and her son on the church roof, why would she save our people only to betray us later?"</p><p>"What is happening?"</p><p>"What aren't they telling us!?"</p><p>"Why would the scouts betray us!? They died defending this district!"</p><p>
  <em>Like Clockwork.</em>
</p><p>"Get him out of here!" The Commander snarled, fear of the growing unrest clouding his actions to stupidity, even an idiot could see forcing me away from the crowd was to shut me up, and if he needed me quiet it was because I had information he didn't want voicing. However, despite the hands forcing my feet one in front of the other towards a parked carriage not far away, I planted my feet and decided to play my hand one more time.</p><p>
  <em>If your playing, play to win.</em>
</p><p>"Give me a moment." I spoke softly, yet firmly to the MPs attempting to haul me away and dropping their hands at my tone, I walked the last remaining steps towards the body of Dimo Reeves' before kneeling before him and his wailing wife.</p><p>"Get the hell away from my husband!" She snarled, her hand lashing out to push me away but it was a weak attempt, no real fire behind it, she had been listening to my words and now was unsure who to blame. I could change that.</p><p>"When the battle for Trost first began, Mr Reeves, delayed evacuation efforts in order to preserve his wealth," I said to her, but my voice was raised enough to remind these people of who lay on the cold ground.</p><p>"Yeah!" Dimo's widow spat, her tear-streaked face scrunching in disgust and ever so slightly in fear as her eyes darted up to the crowd behind me, "So, what's your point!? Are you trying to say he deserved to die!"</p><p>
  <em>She knows her husband cost these people dearly, I suspect that is why Dimo invested so heavily in Trost after the attack. Guilt.</em>
</p><p>"No, I'm not because upon his return to Trost, he found it on the verge of collapse and instead of abandoning it, he planted his feet, he helped those who couldn't leave by striving to revive this city." I praised, steel behind my words, inciting the crowd further, "But now that dream has been cut short by a knife in the dark, just like the battle angel's life would have been had her attackers succeeded, both crimes committed in the shadows of this great district. Both crimes conveniently unsolved by the Military Police."</p><p>Rising to my full height, I brought my sole hand to rest above my heart to swear a solemn vow that would strike fear into the MPs listening and hopefully to my observers above, "I swear to you this, I will avenge him!"</p><p>Shouts and jeers began to erupt from the crowd and wasting no more time, the MPs seized me and bundled me into the carriage brutally, the door slamming shut behind me in an attempt to remove me from the chaos, not that it mattered, the damage had already been done, but I couldn't take credit for it, not this time. </p><p>
  <em>Maybe there is a tactician in her afterall. </em>
</p><p>This small victory belonged to Aurora, in fact, I was sure this was what she was here for. She was here to create chaos. Why? I did not know, but if it worked to our advantage, if it got me out of chains, if it got me back in a position where I could get to that cellar in Shiganshina, if it meant I got to learn the secrets of the Titans, if it proved my father right, then so be it.</p><p>
  <em>Let the chaos reign.  </em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for the kudos, especially for those who have followed the story on from the prequels, thank you for continuing to support this fic, Its greatly appreciated! :D:D Another thank you for those who have subscribed, bookmarked and commented, your all inspirational as hell and keeping me going through this meaty fic!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And so it all begins....<br/>Thanks for continuing on with this story! I'm very excited to show you all what I have planned however I must say sorry in advance because I am as of today diving into my studies as a student nurse, and as such my priority is those studies. This doesn't mean I'm shelving this, it just means that instead of the multiple updates a week I've been churning out is going to stop. I'm sorry :(<br/>As always love hearing from you guys and what you think of the direction the fic is taking and any advice or suggestions are always welcome :D<br/>Stay safe out there!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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